


The Chosen Ones

by kitlee625, Sarahastro



Series: Slayerverse [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-03-21 11:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3691272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitlee625/pseuds/kitlee625, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarahastro/pseuds/Sarahastro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy AU. Skye and Melinda are hoping to have a quiet summer after saving the world. But when an old friend of Melinda’s returns to Sunnydale with warnings about impending doom, they have to work together to save the world. Again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When the doorbell rings, Lian May turns away from the eggs she is scrambling with a puzzled look. “Who could be stopping by so early?”

Skye looks up from her copy of _Jane Eyre_ , which she is trying to finish before her tutoring session with Jemma. “Beats me. I’ll go see who it is.”

She is expecting to see Jemma or maybe Mack or Trip, but the person at the door is a young woman with red hair that she has never seen before. 

She gives Skye a confused look. Before Skye can even ask who she is, she says, “Melinda doesn’t have a little sister.”

“I’m not her sister. I’m a foster kid. Are you friends with Melinda?”

“Yeah. Is she here?”

“She’s in her room.” The woman pushes past her and runs up the stairs, so Skye decides she can rule out a vampire. Melinda is more than capable of protecting herself, but just in case Skye follows the stranger upstairs. “You probably don’t want to go in there. She’s still in bed.”

“So? Melinda and I were like sisters. We slept over at each other’s houses all the time.” She knocks, then opens the door without waiting for a response.

Melinda is still in bed, but she is not asleep. She is straddling a naked Phil, his hands gripping her ass. As soon as the door opens, she rolls off of him, and they both scramble to cover themselves. Melinda looks shocked to see the young woman. “Tasha? What are you doing here?”

Tasha smirks at them. “You two are still joined at the hip, huh? Some things never change.” She turns to Skye, who is staring at them awkwardly. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and wait for them to get dressed.”

When Phil and Melinda come downstairs, Tasha and Skye are sitting at the kitchen table eating eggs. “So Melinda, you finally caught Phil, huh?” Tasha says sweetly. Phil turns red.

“I thought they’ve been together since, like, kindergarten,” Skye says.

“Well yeah, they hung out together all the time, but when I left town they hadn’t even had their first kiss. Melinda used to worry about it all the time.”

Phil gives Melinda a small smile, and she glares at Tasha. “That’s enough.”

Tasha smiles angelically up at her. “Want some eggs? Your mom had to run to work, but there’s more next to the stove. She said if it was cold, it was your fault for sleeping in.” Tasha put the last two words in air quotes.

“Did she use the air quotes too?”

“It was implied in her voice.”

Melinda rolls her eyes and takes a plate of eggs and toast that Phil hands her, as well as a cup of tea, and joins Skye and Tasha at the table. “It’s great to see you, Tasha, but I wish you would’ve called first.”

“I wanted to surprise you. I had some time off this summer, so I thought I’d check out Sunnydale and see what you guys were up to.”

“Are you still dancing?” Melinda asks as she digs into her eggs. “The last time we talked you had just started ballet school up in LA.”

“Not anymore. I got kicked out for fighting with the other dancers.”

Skye looks impressed. “So what are you doing now?”

She shrugs. “Working. Hanging out.” She turns back to Melinda. “Seriously, give me the details. What have you guys been up to?”

“I work as a waitress at the diner. I was going to UC Sunnydale, but I dropped out.”

“So does that mean you live here full-time?”

Melinda nods.

“And what about you?” Tasha asks Phil.

“I go to UC Sunnydale and work in the library. I have an apartment near campus.”

“Mmm. And how long has this been going on?” She raises her eyebrows suggestively.

Melinda and Phil exchange a look. “We started dating in ninth grade, but we broke up about a year ago, and we just got back together last month,” he says.

“And your mom is already letting you spend the night together in her room?”

“Well, before we broke up we were living together,” he says.

Melinda shrugs. “I’m an adult.”

“When we were kids,” Tasha tells Skye, “Phil was so jealous that I could spend the night and he couldn’t. He used to show up on Sunday morning after he got out of church to eat breakfast with us.”

This time it is Phil’s turn to look embarrassed. Melinda rolls her eyes and says, “You don’t need to tell her everything about us.”

“Yes she does,” Skye says. “What other embarrassing Phil and Melinda stories do you have?”

Melinda glares at Tasha, and she smirks and says, “I’ll tell you later. But haven’t you gotten enough of these stories from Melinda’s mom?”

Skye grins. “She doesn’t really talk about the past. I don’t think she likes Phil. She always gives him this death glare when he comes over.”

Melinda rolls her eyes and stands up. “She’s exaggerating. Anyway, sorry to eat and run, but I have to get to work and so does Phil. Do you want to walk with me over to the diner?”

Tasha gets up too and shakes her head. “Nah, I have to be somewhere. I’ll catch you guys later.”

“What about tonight? Want to come over for dinner?” Melinda asks.

“Can’t. I have some people I need to meet up with. Maybe tomorrow afternoon?” 

Melinda nods. “Call me.”

“Cool. Maybe we can swing by the old ballet studio and then go to the mall like the old days.”

Melinda smiles. “It’s a date.”

*****

After breakfast, Melinda and Phil go to work, and Skye heads to Sunnydale High to meet Jemma. Between starting the school year late and her frequent absences for slaying and slaying-related injuries, she had finished the year with incompletes in many of her classes. The principal had threatened to fail her, but Ms. May had talked her teachers into letting her make up the assignments and exams over the summer. Studying with Jemma is not Skye’s idea of a fun summer, but it beats having to repeat her freshman year. 

When she gets to the library, Jemma is already there, laying out the material that she has planned to cover for the day. 

“Hello Skye!” she says brightly. “I thought we could start by discussing _Jane Eyre_ and outlining your essay, and then after lunch we can focus on chemistry.”

“Okay.” Skye notices that Jemma’s bright smile never quite reaches her eyes, which look tired and worried. “How’s Fitz? Have you seen him lately?”

Jemma’s smile wavers. “I went by his house this morning, but his mother said that he was still resting. His physical therapy tires him out.”

“That’s good though, right? It means he’s getting stronger.”

“I suppose. I haven’t seen him in a while. I think he’s avoiding me,” she admits.

“I’m sure he’s not avoiding you. He’s just busy.”

Jemma shakes her head sadly. “His mom asked Mack to help him get to physical therapy. I tried to help him the first time, and it was awful. Fitz nearly fell out of the car when I was helping him into his wheelchair, and he could barely say two words to me. He was just so frustrated and angry.”

“He’s not angry at you, Jemma. What he’s going through is tough, but he’ll get better. That’s what the therapy is for, right?”

Jemma presses her lips together. “His mom thinks that being around me makes him worse.”

“She did not say that,” Skye insists.

“Well it was implied,” Jemma says sharply. She takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry Skye, but I really don’t want to talk about this anymore. There’s nothing I can do for Fitz. We’re here to make sure that you don’t have to repeat freshman year.”

“Okay. And I really appreciate what you’re doing for me, but is there any way we can put off chemistry until tomorrow? Phil wanted me to come by and practice with some swords that he just got.”

“But this is important, Skye. We have only a few more weeks to prepare for the final exam.”

“I know, but Phil says I need to work on my weapons training. He’s been really worried ever since we defeated Garrett and Ward. He doesn’t want something like that to happen again.”

“Nothing’s happened all summer. He’s worrying about things that aren’t even real. Whereas your upcoming exams are a very real and immediate threat.”

Skye sighs. She can see that Jemma is not going to lighten up. “Okay. Chemistry first, swords second.”

“Besides, sword-fighting and martial arts aren’t the only ways to fight evil. If you master inorganic chemistry, you could create quite a number of explosives that I’m sure would be quite effective against demons and vampires.”

“And by chemistry do you mean the magics?” Skye wiggles her fingers, and Jemma blushes.

“I haven’t been doing much magic -- yet. I’ve just been reading about it. It’s really quite fascinating, and I know that if I can understand it better, I can get these spells right for a change.”

“Hey,” Skye says placing her hand reassuringly on Jemma’s arm. “What happened to Fitz isn’t your fault.”

Jemma looks down. “But if the glamour had worked --”

“Then you still would have been in a Hydra lair without any way of defending yourself. You shouldn’t blame yourself. Melinda or I should have been there with you guys.”

Jemma sounds determined. “I don’t want to have to always be protected. I’ve read about powerful spells that I could use to help you fight.”

Skye shakes her head. “Magic is dangerous. Look at what happened when Melinda tried to protect Phil with magic.”

“Yeah, she saved his life,” Jemma muttered.

Skye sighs. She is tired of having the same arguments over and over again. “Let’s just talk about _Jane Eyre_.”

“So you've finished it?”

“Well no,” Skye admits, “but Melinda told me about it while we were patrolling.” Jemma gives her a disapproving look, and Skye says, “I meant to finish it this morning, but an old friend of Melinda’s came over, Tasha Romanoff. She moved to LA when they were thirteen, but before that they were best friends.”

“How cute. I can’t imagine a thirteen-year-old Melinda.” She giggles. “Were she and Phil already dating back then? Did they hold hands and stare at each other all the time?”

“Apparently there was a lot of staring but no hand holding. Anyway, she said she’s going to be in town for a while. Maybe we could all go out sometime.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Sounds like something normal. Which would be a nice change of pace around here.”

“We have normal fun sometimes. Like that time we had a movie marathon at my house, and the time we went to the school dance --” Her voice trails off as she remembers that the highlight of the dance had been Ward’s unexpected appearance. 

Skye flinches. What at the time had seemed romantic is now tainted by everything that came after. Jemma looks at her like she expects Skye to say something about Ward, but he is the last thing she wants to talk about or even think about right now. An awkward silence settles between them. Finally Skye says, “I’ll talk to Melinda and Tasha the next time I see them about hanging out sometime. We could all use a night out.”

*****

But three days pass with no sign of Tasha. She does not come by the house or the diner, and every call to her cell phone goes straight to voicemail.

“Is she normally this hard to get ahold of?” Skye asks Melinda.

Melinda frowns. “Yeah. I actually hadn’t heard from her in years before she showed up the other day. I wish I knew where she was staying so I could make sure she’s okay.”

“We can look for her tonight when we’re patrolling.”

That night they sweep through the entire town, from the graveyard all the way to the motel on the edge of town, but there is no unusual activity.

“Looks pretty quiet,” Skye says. ”Maybe we should just head home.”

“It’s been too quiet all summer,” Melinda says. Since Raina’s warning about the end of the slayer line, she and Phil have been on high alert, but they still do not have the faintest idea what she was talking about.

She shrugs. “There’s nothing here.”

“Lets make one more sweep of the cemetery and then head home.”

“Okay. I still have some chemistry homework to do before tomorrow. If I show up without my homework, Jemma’s going to give me her angry-disappointed look again.”

“How is studying with Jemma?”

“It’s okay. She’s tough, but I think I’m going to pass everything thanks to her.”

“Phil mentioned that she hasn’t come by to help him research in a while.”

Skye hesitates, as if she is weighing what to say next. “I, uh, think she’s doing some stuff on her own.”

“Research stuff or magic stuff?” Melinda asks. Skye does not say anything, and Melinda frowns. “She shouldn’t do magic on her own. It’s too dangerous.”

“I don’t think she’s doing anything big,” she adds quickly. “Just reading about it. Honestly, I think the main reason she hasn’t been by the library lately is that she’s spending most of her time worrying about Fitz.”

“How is he?”

“Getting better, but slowly. You know Jemma said something the other day --”

Melinda gestures for her to be quiet. They have reached the cemetery, and there are some fresh demon tracks leading towards a crypt. Skye pulls a short axe from her belt and falls into step behind Melinda. Silently, they approach the crypt, but before they can enter it, a huge demon covered with scales bursts out the door. It thrashes around tugging at something wrapped around its neck. It takes a second for Melinda and Skye to realize that it is a person, and another second to realize that it is Tasha. Her arms are wrapped around its neck, and she is chopping away at its scaly flesh with a large dagger.

“Get out of here!” Tasha shouts from her perch on top of the demon. Her knife is not able to penetrate the demon’s scales, and she lets it fall to the ground while she tightens her grip to choke the life out of it. However, the demon is thrashing around enough that she loses her grip and is tossed into a bush.

Skye runs towards the demon, aiming her axe at a sensitive spot devoid of scales just behind the demon’s knee, and it stumbles and falls to the ground. Melinda delivers several swift kicks to its head to disorient it before grabbing it by the chin to expose a bare ring of flesh around its neck that Skye drives the axe into. 

Melinda tosses the demon’s head onto the ground and whirls around to face Tasha, who is picking herself up out of the bushes. For a moment they just stare at each other in stunned silence.

Finally Tasha breaks it. “What the hell? Are you the slayer?”

Melinda’s eyes narrow. “How do you know about that? And what are you doing here?”

“Fighting demons, same as you apparently. I’m a potential slayer.” She nods towards Skye. “Is she a potential too? Is that why she’s staying with you?”

“Actually I am a slayer,” Skye says.

Tasha gives both of them a quizzical look.

“I died,” Melinda says, “for a few minutes. But then I came back. Now there are two of us.”

“Well, that’s convenient. I always thought being the Chosen One seemed like a lot for one person.” The smirk fades away. “So how long have you known?” she asks quietly.

“I was chosen when I was fifteen,” Melinda says. “I started training with a watcher when I was twelve.”

Tasha shakes her head sadly. “That’s why you quit ballet. I knew there was something going on with you, but you wouldn’t tell me.”

“I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell anyone.”

Tasha raises her eyebrows at Melinda. “Does Phil know?”

Melinda looks down briefly. “He does. He followed me one night when I was on patrol. He started training with my watcher, and now he’s acting as our watcher.”

Tasha rolls her eyes. “Why am I not surprised? Well, we better find him. I’m not in town just to reminisce about old times. My watcher sent me here to warn you about something evil that’s coming after the slayer line.”


	2. Chapter 2

When they tell Phil, he stares at Tasha incredulously. “You’re a potential slayer too? What are the odds?”

“You didn’t know?” Melinda asks.

“How would I know?”

“The Watcher’s Council might have told you.”

“They don’t tell me that much. Who’s your watcher?”

“Lumley. He’s kind of uptight, but he’s okay.” A worried expression passes over Tasha’s face. “He was really freaked out when he told me to leave town. I hope he’s okay. I haven’t been able to reach him since I got here.”

“I’ll contact the Watchers’ Council now and find out if they’ve heard anything,” Phil says.

He goes into his bedroom to use his computer, and Tasha turns to Melinda. “So twelve, huh? That’s pretty young.”

“Peggy had me training after school almost every day. I wanted to tell you --”

“Hey, I understand. I got the same lectures from my watcher. It’s just --” Tasha smiles, but it does not reach her eyes. “It’s just funny, you know? Lumley told me just a month after I’d moved to LA, and all I wanted was to tell you. But whenever you called, I didn’t know what to say. I mean, I couldn’t tell you that I was learning hand-to-hand combat and how to use a crossbow.”

Melinda looks down like she is not sure what to say.

“Well now that you’re here, you and Melinda can work on that stuff together,” Skye says. “She and Phil have taught me almost everything I know. I didn’t have a lot of time with my old watcher before I came here.”

“What happened to your watcher?”

“She died.” Skye tries to ignore the tight feeling in her chest that still comes whenever she thinks of Linda Avery. “A vampire got her back in LA, so I headed here to get some help.”

Tasha frowns. “I wonder if this danger Lumley was talking about is the same thing that killed your watcher.”

Skye pauses. She had always assumed that Ward was responsible for Avery’s death since he had claimed to know her, but now she is not so sure. “Maybe.”

The door to the bedroom opens, and Phil comes back into the living room. His face is pale, and Skye knows just from looking at his expression that something terrible has happened.

“Lumley’s dead,” he says. “And there was another potential and her watcher killed in a similar manner two weeks ago outside of Tucson. The Watcher’s Council is looking into it. ”

Skye glances at Tasha. Her face is a mask, but she is blinking rapidly as though fighting back tears.

“What do we do now?” Skye asks.

“The Council is looking into the nature of this threat. For now all we can do is try to be ready for whatever comes after us,” Phil says. “I’ll hit the books. Maybe there’s something in there that will help us understand how and why something would be attacking the slayer line.”

“We’ll patrol in shifts,” Melinda says. “At least two of us at all times.”

“Where are you staying?” Phil asks Tasha.

“That crappy motel on the interstate. I didn’t think I’d be in town that long, just until Lumley gave me the all-clear to go home.”

“Well you can stay with me if you want, or with Melinda and Skye.”

“You think your mom won’t mind?” Tasha asks Melinda.

“Of course not.”

“Then I’ll take the Mays over Phil’s bachelor pad.” Tasha smirks. “Plus this way you two can have this place for your alone time.”

As expected, as soon as they get back to the Mays’ house and explain the situation to Melinda’s mom, she insists that Tasha stay with them. “Melinda, get the air mattress and some sheets. Tasha will sleep in your room.”

Tasha wrinkles her nose. “I’m not sharing her room if Phil is going to be sneaking in the window.”

“It’s too dangerous right now for him to be sneaking around after dark. He’ll have to sleep in his own bed for a change.” Lian gives Melinda a pointed look, and she blushes.

“Yes Mom.”

“Cool. It’ll be like the old days, only this time we’ll be whispering about demons and vampires instead of the mean kids in our class and the boys we had crushes on.”

“Something like that,” Melinda says.

*****

It has been a couple of weeks since the last time she saw Phil, and they did not leave that meeting on the best of terms, so Jemma is surprised when he calls asking her to come by the university library later that day.

“Is something the matter?” she asks.

Phil hesitates before saying, “We think there’s a force moving against the slayers, and I need your help to figure out what it is.”

“Are Skye and Melinda okay?”

“They’re safe for now. But we need to find out what this is soon. Can you come by?”

“Sure. I’ll be by right after lunch.”

“Thank you, Jemma. On your way over, do you mind picking up something at the magic shop?”

“The magic shop?” her voice rises with excitement.

He sounds cautious. “I need some dried wormwood for a localization spell to find the source of this danger.”

“Oh! You know, I was reading about those sort of spells the other day. They’re fairly easy to perform, and you can work in different parameters, or connect them with other spells so that once you locate the target, you can transport it or contain it or --”

He cuts her off. “We’re just going to be locating it.”

She knows that she is pushing it with him, but she cannot help but insist, “But if we added some essence of nightshade --”

“Jemma, no.” He sounds annoyed, and she sighs. There is no point in arguing with him when he is like this.

When she gets to the magic shop, all of her annoyance at Phil disappears. The air is full of a hundred fascinating scents, spicy and vaguely floral,. She finds herself drawn towards a table in the center of the shop where crystals of various shapes, sizes, and materials are arranged. She strokes one crystal and feels a tingly energy run up her arm and give her goosebumps.

“Cool isn’t it?” 

She turns to see Callie Hannigan standing beside her with an amused smile on her face.

“What is it?” Jemma asks.

“Stone of attunement. It provides strength and balance.”

“I can tell. It feels so powerful.”

“It is.” Callie gives her a curious look. “I didn’t know you were interested in magic.”

“I just started reading about it.”

“That’s cool. What kinds of spells have you done.”

“Nothing major. Just a glamour that didn’t really work.” She leaves out the fire spell that she and Phil had used in the Hydra lair. Partly because she does not how to explain why they were there without revealing that Melinda and Skye are the slayers, but also because she feels a little guilty whenever she remembers the rush that performing that spell had given her.

Callie though seems to sense what she is not saying. “Well, major or not, there’s nothing like the feeling of doing magic. It’s incredible, the sense of control and power.”

Jemma nods. “It’s like the whole world slips away, and you’re more powerful than ever before. It’s like you can do anything.”

“Exactly.” Callie sighs. “Well if you ever want to practice, give me a call.”

“Really?”

“Sure. I know how to keep it from getting out of control like before, with Donnie and Seth, and I could teach you too.”

“How did you learn how to do it?” Jemma asks. “I’ve been reading everything I can find, but I feel like it’s just not enough.”

“Books will only get you so far,” Callie agrees. “I’ve been practicing here with the shop owner, and he’s been really helpful. He knows so much, and he can do spells you can’t even imagine. I can introduce you sometime. I’m sure he’d love to have someone else to work with.”

Jemma looks curiously around the store. “Is he here now?”

“No, he stepped out for a minute. But he should be back in about an hour.”

Jemma glances at her watch. Phil is expecting her back at the library soon. “I really need to go. I just came to get some wormwood for a locator spell.”

“Okay.” Callie grabs a bottle of power from one of the shelves and goes to ring her up. “But come back sometime, and I’ll introduce you. It’d be cool to have another witch to work with.”

Jemma smiles. She has never thought of herself as a witch before. “That would be great.”

*****

“Phil and Jemma’s locator spell found an area of demon activity just outside of town,” Melinda announces to Skye and Tasha as she comes down the basement stairs.

“Cool,” Skye says. She and Tasha have been sparring for most of the afternoon. Despite not having her slayer powers, Tasha has an impressive amount of natural strength and speed, and is able to keep up with Skye.

“So we go tonight and check it out?” Tasha asks, not missing a beat as she dodges Skye’s punches and kicks.

“The three of us should go together. Just in case,” Melinda says.

“Sounds like a plan.” Skye dodges Tasha’s kicks and then takes a few steps back. “It’s almost dark now. We should leave soon.”

“Cool.” Tasha steps over to the weapons chest and pulls out a sword. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

The area that the locator spell sends them to is far enough outside of town that Melinda has rarely been there. As far as she knows, there is nothing out that far but miles of empty land. None of them know quite what to expect as she drives them out there, and when they get there, all they find is an abandoned mansion, slowly decaying in the empty desert.

“When Phil said that there was unusual demon activity here, I thought he meant there would be actual demons here,” Tasha says as they wander through the deserted rooms. “Or at least one really big, unusual demon.”

Skye snickers. “Seriously. Did the spell backfire? Like, is Sunnydale so full of demon activity that this place is unusual because it’s so totally boring.”

Melinda looks around cautiously. “No. Something was here recently. Something big.” She goes over to a bookshelf where there is still a book on the shelf. Unlike the other objects in the room, it cover has not had time to fade. The pages are well worn, and when she opens it the writing is entirely in Latin. Melinda can only recognize a few words. “It looks like a book on summoning demons.”

“Probably not something that every home has. Although maybe they should. This is Sunnydale after all,” Tasha says.

“So somehow they knew we were coming and cleared out in a hurry. That’s conveniently annoying,” Skye says.

“We should split up and look for more clues,” Melinda says.

Besides the book on demon summoning, they find two more books on magic, an origami paper flower, and a picture of a young woman holding a baby. 

“Weird for a demon to have a picture of mother and a baby,” Tasha comments.

“Maybe it’s not a demon. Maybe it’s a vampire or a witch or something,” Skye says.

“What makes you say that?” Melinda asks.

“Because of the books. I don’t think that demons are that into reading, and it wouldn’t need to summon more demons to do its bidding. It would have it’s own demon-y powers. But a vampire or a witch might. That picture could be a clue to finding out whoever it is.”

Melinda nods. “We should bring all this back to Phil and see what he can make of it.”

*****

Fitz is surprised when his mom leads Jemma into the rec room. “Look who it is, Leo.”

Jemma waves awkwardly. “Hi Fitz.”

“Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat or drink? Some tea?”

“I’m okay, thank you Ms. Fitz.”

“It’s so good to see you Jemma. It’s been awhile since you’ve been here.”

“I know. I’ve wanted to come by, it’s just that I’ve been quite busy helping Skye with her schoolwork.”

“Of course. And Fitz has been busy with his rehab.”

Jemma looks at Fitz expectantly. “How is that going?”

He does not look up from his video game, and his mother says, “It’s going well. The doctors say that he’s made a lot of progress.”

“That’s wonderful.” Jemma smiles at Fitz, who continues ignoring her.

His mother looks like she is not sure what to do or say to fix the tension between them. “I’d better finish cleaning up the kitchen, but if you need anything, I’m just in the other room.”

After she leaves, Jemma sits down on the couch next to Fitz. “Can I play?”

Fitz sighs and pauses his game. “What are you doing here, Jemma?”

“I wanted to see how you were.”

“Really? Because I’ve hardly seen you all summer.”

“That’s not true. I came to visit when you first got home from the hospital, but you didn’t want to see me. And the last time we saw each other we argued, and I didn’t want to bring up any unpleasantness while you were trying to heal.”

Fitz does not sound convinced. “Sure. You were just looking out for me.”

“I was trying to,” Jemma says. He rolls his eyes but does not comment. She takes a deep breath and tries to steady her voice. “I’m glad you’re doing better. Some things have come up in the last few days, a new threat that seems to be coming after the slayer line, and Phil, Skye, and Melinda are really worried about it.”

“He told me.”

“You talked to Phil? When?”

“This afternoon. He was looking for a book that he loaned me on demon summoning.”

“Oh. Well if you’ve talked to Phil, does that mean you’re going to start coming by the library again? Because if you are, there’s something we could work on together. Phil and I did a localization spell, but when the others went to look for it, they didn’t find anything, so I thought this time we could try a summoning spell --”

“What did Phil say about it?”

Jemma frowns. “He wouldn’t even consider it. He said it’s too dangerous. But I’ve been doing a lot of research into them, and they’re not that much more complicated than the localization spell.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jemma. If Phil says it’s too dangerous --”

“Phil doesn’t know everything, you know,” Jemma snaps. Fitz stares at her, and Jemma immediately feels embarrassed about her outburst. “I just want to help our friends,” she says. There is almost a pleading tone in her voice. She knows the others do not understand, but surely Fitz will. She and Fitz have always attacked problems the same way -- with knowledge. She knows that if she just studies and practices hard enough, she can conquer magic just like she has conquered science.

But Fitz shakes his head and looks at her warily. “Phil mentioned that you’ve become obsessed with magic.”

It is bad enough that Phil has been talking about her behind her back, but the idea that Fitz is apparently taking his side hurts even worse. “I’m not obsessed. I’m just curious. Magic is a powerful tool, and I don’t know why Phil is so afraid of it. If I could use it, I know that I could help Skye and Melinda with slaying.”

Fitz fixes her with an accusatory glare. “That’s what you said before we went into the Hydra lair.”

An awkward silence settles between them. Jemma finally breaks it, saying, “I should go. Are you going to be working with Phil tomorrow?”

Fitz gives a small nod. “I said I’d come by after rehab.”

Jemma stands up to leave and gives Fitz a nervous smile, but he looks back at her impassively. She suddenly feels unbearably lonely. All she wants to do is help, but no one is giving her a chance. “Well, maybe I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m tutoring Skye in the morning, but I can come by later.”

Fitz nods and turns his attention back to his game. “See you, Jemma.”

*****

The next day though, Skye never shows up for tutoring. When Jemma calls the Mays’ house, Skye sounds only vaguely apologetic as she explains that she is training with Melinda and Tasha all day. With this new mysterious danger coming after the slayer line, they all have to be on high alert.

Since things are apparently so dire, Jemma goes to the university library to work with Phil and Fitz, but after only a few minutes it is clear that they do not want her there. They are completely on the same page, piecing together clues from the abandoned house and looking up potential threats, and Jemma feels out of sync with them. Their approach feels frustratingly slow and ineffective to Jemma, and every time she suggests using magic, she is met with disapproving stares. She ends up spending most of the day going through some books on magic from a dusty corner of the stacks that she does not think have been touched since before Fury died.

By Friday, when Skye blows off tutoring yet again, Jemma cannot take another day spent in the university library with Phil and Fitz. Instead, she finds herself drawn back to the magic shop. Callie gives her a big smile when she comes in.

“Hey, I was hoping I’d see you again. How’s it going?”

“You said that you could teach me how to do magic,” Jemma says without preamble.

“Sure. Let me introduce you to the shop owner. I know some stuff, but he’s the real expert.” Callie leads Jemma to the back of the shop, where a middle-aged man with dark hair is shelving books. When he hears them approach, he looks up from his books and smiles at them.

“You must be Jemma Simmons. Callie’s told me so much about you.” He holds out his hand for her to shake. “I’m Dr. Zabo.”

“Nice to meet you. Callie said that she’s learned a lot about magic from you.”

“Magic is a tool just like any other. Some people are afraid of its power, but they don’t understand how to harness it for what they want. Once you learn that, you can do anything you want.” He studies Jemma’s face. “What is it that you want?”

“I want to be able to help my friends.”

“What’s the matter with your friends?”

Jemma bites her lower lip. She obviously cannot tell him about the threat to the slayer line, but there must be another way she could help them. “They have a lot going on right now, and it’s making them so stressed out and unhappy. I want to help them, but whenever I try … it’s like they don’t trust me.” She sighs. “If I could just help them feel better --”

“Forget their troubles?”

“Exactly.”

He smiles. “I’ll see what I can do.”


	3. Chapter 3

When Jemma gets to the library, she is surprised to find Skye already there going through her chemistry book.

“Hey Jemma,” Skye says. “Can we go over electron configuration today? I’ve been trying to do the problems at the end of the chapter, but I’m stuck on this one.”

“Of course. Let’s take a look.” She sits down beside her and takes a look at the book.

For once Skye is all business, and the two of them make rapid progress. By the end of the afternoon, they have gone over all of the material for the exam, and Jemma is confident that Skye will pass. Skye is so pleased that she suggests getting dinner at the diner to celebrate.

“Melinda’s working tonight,” she says, “which means Phil will probably be over there too.”

Sure enough, when they arrive Phil is sitting at the counter smiling at Melinda over a milkshake. She is looking at something on Phil’s laptop, but when she sees them she straightens up and grabs two menus.

“How did studying go?” she asks Skye.

“Great. I’m totally ready for the chemistry exam.” Skye takes the menu and flips straight to the dessert section. “And I think after all my hard work, I deserve a milkshake.”

“What about you, Jemma? Milkshake and burger?”

Jemma nods. Melinda goes to give their order to the kitchen, and Phil grabs the laptop and starts scrolling through something. Skye peers over his shoulder.

“What are you looking at?”

“Course schedule. Melinda’s registering for classes.”

“She’s going back to school?” Jemma asks.

“It’s about time,” Skye says. “Lian’s been nagging her about it for months.”

When Melinda gets back, Phil says, “What about Intro to Psychology? I’ve heard this professor is good.”

Melinda leans over him and reads the description. “Maybe.”

“That’s great that you’re going back to school,” Jemma says. “What changed your mind?”

“It just seemed like the right thing to do. I don’t want to be a waitress for the rest of my life.”

“Are you going to move back in with Phil or stay at your mom’s house?” Skye asks.

“I’m not sure. It would be more convenient to be back on campus, but Mom would probably prefer I live at home. What do you think?”

Skye shrugs. “I like having you at home, but it might be nice to be an only child.”

“Have Mom’s undivided attention on you.”

Skye grimaces. “No thanks. She already nags me about my homework all the time.”

“You’re almost caught up now, right?”

Skye nods. “I can’t believe I got this far behind in the first place.”

“That wasn’t your fault. You had a lot going on this spring,” Jemma says.

“Well next year will be different. I’m going to focus and not get distracted. I don’t want to fall behind again.”

“Good,” Jemma says, although she gives Skye a strange look. She cannot help but wonder what has brought on this change. It is not what she expected from the spell that she had cast. Skye and Melinda do look more relaxed, but she is not sure why they are so focused on school. She clears her throat. “What time are you going out?”

“Oh, I don’t have any plans tonight. Do you want to hang out? You could come over and watch a movie.”

“Don’t you have to patrol?”

Skye looks puzzled. “Patrol what?”

Jemma looks at Phil and Melinda, but they look just as confused as Skye. “The cemetery. For vampires.”

“Vampires?” Skye looks confused, then laughs. “Nope, no plans with any vampires tonight. Unless you want to watch Twilight.”

Jemma searches for a sign of recognition on one of their faces, but there is nothing. Phil and Melinda look concerned, so Jemma follows Skye’s lead and laughs. “We don’t have to. We can watch whatever you want.”

After they eat, the three of them head back to the Mays house. Phil wants to stay at the diner to keep Melinda company during the rest of her shift, but her manager keeps giving him dirty looks, so he reluctantly packs up his computer and kisses her goodbye. When they get there, Tasha is home alone watching TV and eating a sandwich.

“Hey, where were you guys?”

“Studying, then dinner at the diner,” Skye says. “Phil got kicked out for staring at Melinda too much.”

Phil blushes. “I’ve really missed her. We were apart for a long time, and we just got back together. I want to make up for lost time.”

“I can’t imagine you two broken up,” Tasha says. “Even when we were kids, you two never stayed mad at each other for longer than like a day.”

Phil frowns a little. “You know, I can’t even really remember why we broke up in the first place.” He shrugs and smiles. “So what do you want to watch?”

Jemma waits for Tasha to say something about slaying or going to the cemetery, but she just shrugs and says, “Whatever. I’m just getting my reality TV fix.”

Jemma glances around at Skye and Phil, but they just join Tasha on the couch. Skye gives her a worried look. “Everything okay, Jemma?”

She forces herself to give Skye a bright smile. “Fine. Everything’s fine.”

*****

When the magic store opens the next morning, Jemma is already pacing outside. Dr. Zabo raises one eyebrow and smiles at her as he opens the front door. “Well well, you’re here bright and early. What can I do for you?”

“I need to talk to you.” Even though there is no one around at this hour, Jemma waits until they are both inside to talk to him. “Something went wrong with the spell you gave me.”

“Oh? So your friends aren’t more relaxed?”

“No, they are, but -- but the spell also wiped their memories!”

Dr. Zabo never loses his serene smile. “Oh really? And they’ve forgotten everything?”

“Well, not everything. They still remember who they are and their pasts -- or at least, most of it -- but there are big chunks that are missing.”

“Ahhh. And those big chunks wouldn’t happen to be particularly distressing memories, would they?”

“I suppose so --”

“You told me that your friends were unhappy, that they felt as if the weight of the world were on their shoulders. I told you that the spell would help them. Relieve them of their burdens.”

“By erasing their memories?”

“By allowing them to forget things that they’re better off not knowing.” His smile is tighter now, a little threatening. “Can you honestly tell me that they aren’t better off? That they’re not happier? Safer?”

Jemma feels a twinge of doubt and confusion. She thinks about Skye, so much lighter than Jemma has ever seen her, and how sweetly Melinda and Phil had smiled at each other at the diner. She has never seen any of them look as happy as they did last night. She shakes her head. “But it’s not right,” she says. “I can’t leave them like this. I need a way to undo it.”

He shrugs. “That was some pretty serious magic that you performed. It’s not going to be easy to undo it. I’m not entirely sure that it can be undone.”

Jemma stares at him in disbelief. “Well I have to try.”

His only response is a shrug. Jemma lets out a sigh of frustration and storms out.

*****

When she leaves the magic shop, she is not sure what to do. She tutors Skye again, and just like the day before, Skye is more diligent and focused than ever before. Today Jemma is the one interrupting their studying, constantly asking questions trying to gauge just how much Skye has forgotten. As far as she can tell, Skye knows everything about her past except for being the slayer. Anytime Jemma brings up anything related to vampires or the slayer, Skye looks confused but then shrugs it off.

When they take a break for lunch, Skye asks, “Everything okay Jemma? You seem a little distracted today.”

“I’m fine. Just have a lot of things on my mind.”

“About Fitz? Jemma, you have to stop blaming yourself for what happened to you guys. It was an accident. The important thing is that you’re okay, and he’s going to be okay.”

“Yes. It was quite an accident. And -- ah, you know, my memory of that night is still a bit fuzzy. Do you know what happened that night?”

Skye gives Jemma a puzzled look. “I wasn’t there, Jemma. Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t have some kind of delayed traumatic head thing?”

“I’m fine,” Jemma says. “Really. I’m just kind of tired. I’ve been having trouble sleeping since the accident.”

“Okay. Well look, why don’t we all go out tonight and have some fun? Tasha mentioned wanting to go to the Bronze. Some guy she knows from LA is in town with his band.”

“I don’t know. I was going to do some reading tonight… ”

“Come on, Jemma. Are you sure you don’t want to go out? We could see if Fitz wants to come, and Mack and Trip too. I haven’t seen them in a while. What do you think?”

Jemma forces herself to return Skye’s hopeful smile. “Okay. It’ll be nice to see everyone again.”

*****

Melinda hangs up the phone. “That was Skye. She wanted to know if we wanted to go to the Bronze tonight.” She looks at Phil, who is lying in bed next to her with a look of lazy contentment on his face.

“Tonight? But tonight is date night.”

“I know, but it sounds like fun. Tasha’s not-boyfriend is going to be there.”

Phil grins. “I can’t imagine Tasha in love. She got so annoyed when boys had crushes on her in middle school.”

“We were twelve,” Melinda reminds him. “And it was really just the Koenig triplets because of how they used to follow her around.”

“Just Billy. Sam liked you.”

Melinda smiles. “Don’t you want to meet the guy that has her smiling like an idiot?”

Phil pulls her down so that she is lying facing him and wraps his arms around her. “I’ll admit that I’m curious about him,” Phil says kissing her neck, “but I’m also having a pretty good time right here.”

“We don’t have to go right away. I told Skye that we’d meet them there. And then we can come back here and pick up where we left off.”

Phil nods. “You know, if you moved back in, every day could be like this. We wouldn’t have to wait until date night.”

Melinda sighs. “Mmm, that would be nice.”

She thinks this is just idle talk, but Phil looks at her earnestly. “Does that mean you’ll move in with me?” He must see how confused she feels, because he adds, “I know it’s soon after we broke up, but I love you, and I missed you so much when we were apart.”

“I missed you too.” Her emotions are a mess of contradictions right now. She loves Phil, and she knows that she has always loved him. She cannot even remember why they broke up in the first place. But for some reason, she has this nagging feeling that she should keep her distance from him. “But we just got back together. We should take it slow.”

She knows he must be disappointed, but he hides it well. “Okay,” he says, kissing her on the forehead. “We’ll take it slow.”

She snuggles against his chest and wraps one arm around him. But even lying in his embrace, she still feels this undercurrent of guilt and anxiety about their relationship that she cannot explain.

*****

Jemma meets at Skye and Tasha at the Mays’ house before heading out to the Bronze together. 

“Should we wait for Melinda and Phil?” Jemma asks.

“They’ll meet us there,” Skye says, rolling her eyes. “Didn’t want to cut date night too short.”

“What about you guys?” Tasha asks. “Are these guys you invited to come with us your boyfriends or something?”

“No,” Skye says. “They’re just friends.” She smirks at Jemma. “For now at least.”

Jemma turns red.

“Well it’s good to leave guys wanting more. Keeps them interested,” Tasha says.

“We’ll keep that in mind, although I don’t know that Melinda has ever ascribed to that rule,” Skye says. “So what about you? Is this guy Clint your boyfriend?”

Tasha smiles fondly. “He’s a friend from LA. Never quite made it up to boyfriend though --” A momentary confusion passes across her face. “But it’ll be good to see him again.”

“Well if you do get together,” Skye says. “LA’s not that far. You can always visit him until you go back for ballet school.”

“Or I might go back early. I mean, Lian’s great, but I feel bad crashing with them for so long. Plus it would be nice to have a bed again.”

“No!” Jemma says. Skye and Tasha look at her strangely. “I mean, I’m sure Ms. May doesn’t mind, and it must be nice seeing Melinda again. You said you two were so close.”

“Yeah we were, although we’d kind of lost touch for a while.” She looks confused again. “I don’t really remember why, but we hadn’t spoken in a couple of years before I came here.”

Skye shrugs. “Well it’s cool having you here. So should we head to the Bronze?”

Tasha nods, and Skye grabs her house keys. Jemma looks nervous. “Are we going to drive?”

“Why would we drive? It’s not far from here,” Skye says. “And Sunnydale’s safe.”

Jemma tries not to laugh when Skye says that with a straight face. Sunnydale may be low on crimes committed by humans, but its high rate of vampire and demon attacks make it far from safe. But of course Tasha and Skye do not know anything about that now. She only hopes that if a vampire does attack them, they will have enough memory left to be able to kill it. “Of course. Yes, let’s walk.”

The walk to the Bronze is uneventful, though Jemma is extremely anxious the entire way there. She sees vampires lurking behind every shadow and every noise startles her. She is relieved when they finally arrive at the Bronze unharmed.

Tasha spots one of the band members setting up on stage and rushes over to greet him. “Hey Clint.”

“Tasha?” He sets his guitar on the ground and gives her a big hug. “Oh my god, it’s great to see you. What are you doing in Sunnydale?”

She looks a little confused by his warm welcome. “Just staying with some friends. This is Jemma and Skye. Skye’s foster sister Melinda was my best friend growing up.”

Clint looks worried. “But is everything okay? The last time we talked, you seemed pretty freaked out, and you never returned my calls.”

“I’m fine. Really.” Tasha looks confused but then shakes it off. Her tone shifts to being more flirtatious. “Nice to know you missed me though.”

He grins. “Well you’re one of a kind, Nat, and when you’re around, things tend to be a little more interesting.”

“So how do you guys know each other?” Skye asks.

“We met in a bar. I was bartending one night, and a crazy fight broke out. Turf war between two gangs, I think. Anyway, I’m searching for a knife behind the bar to defend myself, and she just leaps into the middle of it, kicking ass like some kind of ninja superhero.” He grins at her, and Jemma can see how crazy he is about her. “After a display like that, I had to find out her name. Buy her a drink.” One of his band members calls to him from the stage door, and he shakes his head. “Sorry, I’ve got to take care of this. But I’ll see you after the show? You can buy me a drink this time.”

Tasha smiles and nods, but after he leaves she turns to Skye and Jemma with a worried look on her face. “I don’t remember that.”

“It was a pretty crazy story. I figured he made it up,” Skye says.

But Tasha shakes her head. “That’s the thing though, I don’t know what the real story is.” She shakes her head and sighs. “I can’t remember a lot of things, actually. It’s like I’m missing whole years from my memory. I’m not even sure why I came to Sunnydale.”

Jemma looks nervously between Skye and Tasha.

“I feel the same way, actually,” Skye says. “I remember that I was in LA… but I don’t know why I ended up here.”

“I thought you got placed here with Lian as your foster mom.”

“But that’s not why I came to Sunnydale. I was sleeping on Phil’s couch for a couple months when I first got here, but I don’t remember why, or even how I met him.”

Jemma clears her throat. “Well, um… ”

Tasha looks at her and narrows her eyes. “Wait, do you know something about this?”

But before she can answer, there is a loud crash near the entrance, and the bouncer goes flying through the air and hits the wall with a sickening thud. A second later a demon enters, at least seven feet tall with grey scales and horns sticking out of head like a crown.

Skye screams, and the three girls dive under the nearest table.

“We have to get out of here!” Tasha says.

“No!” Jemma says. “You two have to fight it.”

“Fight it? That thing’s huge, like twice my size! How are we supposed to fight it?”

“I-I don’t know. Punch it, kick it, stab it with something…”

“I don’t know how to fight,” Skye says.

“Yes you do. You both do. I promise, you can do this.”

Tasha stares at Jemma. “Does this have anything to do with that story Clint told? Do you know what really happened? Were you there?”

“I’ll explain everything later, I promise. But right now you have to go out there and kill it.”

Tasha is still staring at Jemma like she is crazy. She turns to Skye, who gives a small nod before crawling out from under the table and running over to the demon.

“Hey!” she shouts, drawing its attention away from a table full of terrified high school students. “Pick on someone … nowhere near your own size.” She raises her fists and swallows hard as it charges towards her. Right before it can crash into her, she leaps high into the air and manages to grab onto one of its horns. Before she can be amazed at what she just did though, it tosses its head back, and she loses her grip and goes flying against the wall.

Before it can finish Skye off, Tasha runs up towards the demon, throwing pool balls at its head. It is enough to draw its attention, and the demon swings its heavy fists towards Tasha. She dodges its lumbering blows easily, laughing at it.

The demon grabs a pool table and hurls it at her, but she leaps over it and delivers a swift kick to its head. Skye notices one of the pool cues fall to the ground and roll towards her, and she grabs it, swinging it hard against the demon’s side. The cue snaps in two, and the demon looks over at her with a furious glare. It charges at Skye, and this time she is able to drive the now jagged end of the cue straight into the demon’s chest. It lets out a bellow and collapses to the ground.

Jemma crawls out from under the table, but before she can thank Skye and Tasha, Tasha turns to her and yells, “What the hell was that thing?”

Skye is shaking. “How did I know how to do that? It was like my body was on autopilot. I didn’t have to think about it at all.”

Jemma looks at them. “We need to go to the university. There’s something in the library that can explain all of this.”

Before either of them can respond, Melinda and Phil run inside. “Are you guys okay? What happened in here?”

Tasha folds her arms across her chest. “Jemma seems to know what’s going on. She says we need to go to the university library.”

“The library?” Phil asks.

Having everyone staring at her is making Jemma’s head swim. “Please, just trust me,” she says. “I’ll explain everything when we get to the library.”

Melinda stares at the corpse of the demon. She and Phil are holding onto each other tightly. “What if there are more of those things out there?”

It feels weird having to reassure a terrified Melinda May. “You can handle it,” she tells her. “You and Skye and Tasha.” She glances around the club to see if Fitz, Trip, and Mack are there yet, but there is no sign of them. She pulls out her phone and texts them to meet at the library. “Come on, we have to get out of here.”

As they are leaving, Clint runs up to them and touches Tasha’s arm. “Are you okay?” he asks. “What you guys did back there was pretty amazing.”

She starts to brush him off, then stops and turns to face him. “Is this like what happened when we first met?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it. But with more guys.” He glances at her friends, who are waiting for her by the door. “Is this what you and your friends do? Go to clubs and rescue people from weird dudes?”

“I don’t know,” Tasha admits. “But I need to go.”

“Okay. Well hey, don’t be a stranger. You have my number. If you want to hang out, or need a hand the next time you’re being a hero.”

“I’ll call you,” she promises before running after the others.

*****

By the time they make it to the library, Fitz, Trip, and Mack are already waiting for them in the basement.

“What happened at the Bronze?” Trip asks. “You guys run into trouble?”

“Some kind of huge monster attacked the club,” Tasha says, “but Skye stabbed it with a pool cue.”

“You mean like a demon?” Fitz asks. “I wonder if that’s the same demon the localization spell found.”

“Localization spell?” Phil asks.

Jemma stares at Fitz. “You remember that?”

“Of course I remember it, Jemma,” Fitz snaps. “We were all talking about it just the other day.”

“But they don’t remember any of it,” Jemma says, gesturing towards Skye, Melinda, Phil, and Tasha. “Vampires, magic, the slayer -- it’s all gone.”

“Wait, what? Vampires? Magic?” Skye asks.

Mack looks at the four of them, then back at Jemma. “Is this some kind of spell?”

Fitz narrows his eyes at her. “Jemma --”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” she wails. “I only wanted to help them relax. The man at the magic shop helped me do a calming spell, but somehow it affected their memories.”

Before Fitz or Mack can say anything else, Trip says quickly, “Right now we need to figure out a way to get their memories back.”

“We can’t unless we can figure out what kind of spell she did,” Fitz says. “Can you remember any of the ingredients?”

As Jemma starts describing as much as she can remember about the spell, Mack and Trip go to the stacks to pull every book that might be helpful. They are only gone a moment though before they return empty handed.

“It’s a mess back there. A couple of shelves have been knocked over, and there are books all over the floor,” Mack says.

Fitz looks alarmed. “Is anything missing?” Mack shrugs. “Alright, we need to do an inventory. Some of those books can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Phil will know if anything’s missing. He knows the collection better than anyone.”

“I do?” Phil looks surprised. “I didn’t think anyone ever came down here.”

Fitz rolls his eyes. “Yeah. Come on, I’ll help you.”

“What about the rest of us?” Skye asks.

“I think it’s time for Jemma to explain what’s going on,” Tasha says. “You erased our memories?”

“On accident. I just wanted to help you all relax. You’ve been so worried about slaying and the demons --”

“Slaying?” Melinda interrupts. “Slaying what?”

“Vampires mostly, and also demons.” Seeing their blank faces, Jemma adds, “You and Skye are the slayers. The two girls in all the world with the power to stand against the forces of darkness. And Tasha is a potential slayer, but her powers haven’t been activated yet, although she’s had a great deal of training to prepare her for this. That’s why Skye and Tasha came to Sunnydale. It’s sort of a focal point for demon energies.”

“So we slay all the creepy crawlies in town?” Skye asks skeptically. Jemma nods. “And Melinda and I have, like, super powers?”

“Basically.”

“And none of us remember this because you put a spell on us,” Melinda says.

“It was just supposed to help you relax, make you feel better. But I guess it removed all of the memories which were upsetting you, which was everything related to being the slayer.”

Tasha shakes her head. “This is crazy. I don’t like my head being messed with like this.”

“I didn’t mean --”

Skye cuts her off. “We know, Jemma. We just need to figure out a way to reverse it. There is a way to reverse it, right?”

“I think there is, I just need to do a little research into it. That’s why I wanted to come here. There are lots of magic books in here.”

“Well,” Trip says as he emerges from the stacks with an armful of books, “good news, Fitz thinks these books will help us reverse the spell. All we have to do is figure out exactly what spell you cast.”

Jemma grabs the top book off the stack and starts thumbing through it. “Any idea what was taken?”

“Not yet. Fitz and Phil are going through it, but it would be a lot easier if Phil had his memory back.” He flips through his book. “This one sounds similar. Is this the spell you used?”

She peers over his shoulder. “It was almost the same, but we didn’t have that crystal.”

He flips through a few other pages and shakes his head. “I don’t know what to tell you Jemma, but this book says that you have to have a crystal like that to focus the beam of the spell. Otherwise it could affect everyone in the town.”

Jemma looks up to ask if they have seen anything like it, when she realizes that it is right in front of them, hanging around Skye’s neck. “Skye? Where did you get that necklace?”

Her hand fiddles with the necklace, a milky white crystal on the end of a long silver chain. “Oh, do you like it? I got it --” A shadow passes over her face, and she quickly takes it off. “I don’t remember where I got it.” She tosses it to Jemma and asks, “Is that what’s causing all this?”

“It’s part of the spell.” Jemma holds the crystal in her palm. She can feel a magical hum coming from it, and part of her would love to study it more, but Trip interrupts her.

“The book says that it’s necessary to focus the spell and keep it going after its cast. Break the crystal, and you break the spell.”

Jemma sets it on the table and smashes it beneath a heavy book. It shatters into dust, and she looks at the others to see if there is any change. Melinda and Tasha are rubbing their eyes, and Skye is holding onto the table and blinking rapidly. “Are you guys okay?” she asks.

“Yeah,” Skye says. “Just feeling kind of woozy. But I know who I am now.”

“So do you remember where you got that necklace?” Trip asks.

“From the magic shop. I went in a couple of days ago looking for you, Jemma, and the owner sold it to me. Said it would bring me good luck.”

Phil emerges from the stacks with Fitz. Jemma does not have to ask if his memory is back as well. The sweet, confused look on his face from before is gone, replaced by his usual serious, somewhat disapproving expression. “Jemma and I need to have a talk with the shop owner. There seems to be more to this than just a spell gone wrong.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is heavily influenced by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Tabula Rasa."


	4. Chapter 4

Phil does not look at Jemma during the entire walk to the magic shop. Behind him he can hear her hurrying to keep up with him, babbling excuses and apologies, but he does not have the patience to hear it right now.

His mind keeps replaying the last few days -- lying in bed with Melinda in his arms, asking her to move back in with him, looking at engagement rings online -- but he tries to push those memories away. None of that matters right now. All that matters is finding out who did this to them and why.

But when they get to the shop, it is dark. Phil pounds on the door but no one answers.

“There’s no one here, Phil,” Jemma says. “He must have closed up early.”

Phil peers through the window. “I don’t think that’s it. Half of the shelves are empty, and there are books and boxes everywhere.”

“Do you think something could have happened to him?”

“Maybe. Or he might have left town and grabbed as much as he could to take with him.” Phil sighs. “Do you know where he lives?”

“No, I only ever met him at the shop.” She bites her lower lip. “I don’t know what else we can do tonight. We can try coming back in the morning.”

Phil turns and stares through the glass again, but the shop remains as empty as ever. “Fine. Meet me here tomorrow morning.”

But when the store opens the next morning, Callie is the one who unlocks the front door, not Dr. Zabo.

“Hi Jemma. You’re here early.” She smiles and steps aside so they can enter. “Did you come by for something specific?”

“I’m here to see Dr. Zabo. I need to talk to him. Is he around?”

“Sorry, he’s not here. He had to go out of town for a few days. Some kind of family emergency.”

“Do you know when he’ll be back?” Phil asks.

“He didn’t say, but it sounded like he was going to be gone for a while because his friend is taking over the shop for now. She might be able to help you. Want me to get her for you?”

“Yes,” Phil says.

When Callie returns, she is followed by a small woman with dark skin and dark curly hair wearing a flowered dress. She gives him an enigmatic smile. “Hello, Phil. So good to see you again.”

“Oh, you two already know each other?” Callie asks.

“We’ve met,” Phil says tightly. He turns to Jemma, struggling to keep his voice calm despite his rising panic. “This is Raina. She’s a friend of my former classmate, John Garrett.”

Jemma’s eyes widen, and Raina’s smile grows at her discomfort. “Callie said you were looking for the Doctor, but perhaps there’s something I could help you with instead.”

“I don’t think so.” He gives Raina a thin smile. “But it was good to see you again, Raina.”

“You too. And Jemma --” Raina calls after them. “I’ve heard so much about you from Callie and the Doctor. Please feel free to stop by any time.”

*****

“Did you find out anything?” Fitz asks when Jemma and Phil come back to the library. He is bent over a table doing inventory of all the books trying to find out what had been taken.

“Too much,” Phil says.

“Dr. Zabo is gone,” Jemma explains, “and we don’t know for how long. But he’s working with Raina, who apparently used to work with John Garrett.”

“She’s the one who tortured me when Garrett had me kidnapped,” Phil says.

Fitz’s eyes widen. “Hydra? That could explain the books that were taken. Do you remember the research that Jemma and I were doing on the Obelisk?”

“The artifact Hydra was after to make their followers invulnerable?”

He nods. “One of the books that was taken contained the most thorough description of the Obelisk.”

“What else did they take?” Phil asks.

“Just one other, a book about slayer history, but I don’t know why they would want that.”

Phil frowns. “Are there any other books about the Obelisk in the library?”

Fitz shakes his head, but Jemma nods slowly. He and Phil look at her, and she turns red and stammers, “After Fitz’s injury, I did some research on my own, looking for information and healing and regeneration spells, and I found something about it in one of the books that were still in storage.” She gets up and returns a minute later with a small, old book. She flips through the pages until she finds the passage she is looking for. Phil looks over her shoulder at a brief description and sketch of the Obelisk.

He frowns. “That’s the Diviner. At least it looks like the illustration in the slayer history book.”

“What’s that?” Fitz asks.

“The Diviner is what the first Watchers used to create the first slayer. They used an object that was rumored to have powers over life and death to summon a demon and imbue her with its powers. Ever since then, the Diviner has had the power to activate a new slayer whenever the time comes. The Council studied it for centuries hoping to learn more about how exactly it works, but it was lost many years ago when someone tried to steal it.” He frowns. “I wonder if someone hid it here on purpose. The Hellmouth’s energy would mask its presence and make it harder to find it.”

“So you think Dr. Zabo’s working with Hydra?” Jemma asks.

“I don’t know,” Phil says, “but he must be after the Diviner. He used that spell to distract us so he could steal those books about it.” He turns to Fitz. “Did you come across anything that might give us an idea of how to find it?”

Fitz shakes his head. “How did Dr. Zabo find about it? Or know to look here?”

“Well it must be something that he figured out relatively recently,” Jemma says. “He only opened the magic shop a few weeks ago.”

Phil’s eyes widen, and he turns to his computer. It only takes a moment for him to find an article in the local paper from four weeks ago. “The museum is renovating some of their old exhibits, and they’ve been going through a lot of artifacts that have been in storage for decades. There was an article about it a few weeks ago --” He scrolls through the article until he sees a picture of the storeroom. “There it is. The Diviner.” He skims through several other issues of the paper. “Good. There hasn’t been any report of a break in at the museum, so we know he doesn’t have it yet.”

Jemma asks, “What do you think he wants with it? Because an object that powerful could --”

“I don’t know, but I know I don’t want to find out,” Phil says. “I’ll go to the museum tonight and get it before he has a chance to take it for himself.”

*****

Jemma sounds surprised to hear from Skye when she calls her after dinner. “Skye? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. A little tired from training all day, but okay.”

“And the spell?”

Skye shakes her head. She has been trying hard not to think about the spell and how it made her feel. Luckily sparing with Melinda and Tasha is an effective distraction. “I’m okay Jemma. Actually I called to see how you were. Find out what happened at the magic shop.”

Quickly Jemma tells her about finding out that Dr. Zabo has left town. Skye gasps when she tells her that Raina was at the magic shop, and Jemma assures her that she and Phil got out of there quickly. “But the day wasn’t a total bust because Fitz figured out that the books that were taken was about the Obelisk, or I guess it’s really called the Diviner. It’s a magical artifact that’s tied into the slayer line. Phil thinks it’s actually been hidden at the museum, and he’s going tonight to get it.”

“By himself?” Skye asks doubtfully.

“I don’t know. We didn’t go over the specifics, but I assumed he would ask you guys to go with him.”

“I haven’t heard anything, and I don’t think Melinda has.” After dinner, Melinda had gone back down into the basement to take her frustrations out of the punching bag. Skye suspects that she is having as hard a time with the aftermath of the spell as she is, but Melinda refuses to talk about it.

“Oh. Maybe he didn’t want me to tell you guys.”

Skye detects a note of anxiety in Jemma’s voice, and she asks, “Did something happen today with Phil?”

“No. Not exactly. He just -- I can tell that he’s mad at me. He would barely talk to me or even look at me all day.”

Skye feels a twinge of sympathy and tries to reassure her. “He’s probably just feeling a little weird today, because of the spell --”

“It’s not just today though,” she interrupts. “Whenever magic comes up, he acts like he’s angry that I’m interested in it. And he never listens to what I have to say. I know I shouldn’t be complaining. This is all my fault, and I messed with your minds, but I didn’t mean to harm you. I just wanted to help you.”

“I know Jemma,” Skye takes a deep breath and tries to let go of her own frustrations at Jemma. “It wasn’t your fault. That Zabo guy took advantage of you. I’ll talk to Phil.”

“You don’t have to,” Jemma says weakly.

“Yes, I do. Is he still in the library?”

“I think so. At least he was when I left. He wanted to read more about the Diviner before going out tonight.”

When she gets to the library, Phil is still in the basement where Jemma left him hours earlier. He does not seem to notice her arrival. At first Skye assumes that he is engrossed in his book, but then she realizes that he is just sitting there, not turning a page, eyes focused on the same spot in space.

Skye clears her throat. “You should take it easy on Jemma.”

Phil looks up. “Skye --”

“She made a mistake, but she didn’t mean for anything bad to happen. That Zabo guy was manipulating her.”

Phil’s voice is cold. “She shouldn’t have cast that spell in the first place. I’ve told her dozens of times not to mess around with magic.”

Skye sits down across from him. “She was only trying to help. That’s all she wants to do, but she feels like you don’t take her seriously. Maybe if you taught her some things instead of always telling her no, next time she’d know not to mess with spells that will wipe our memories.”

Phil sighs. He pauses before admitting, “It isn’t just the mistake. When I see her, it’s hard not to remember the spell. How it felt not to have all of this hanging over me.”

Skye nods. “I’ve been trying to forget that too. Everything was so much easier. All I had to worry about was getting my homework done early enough to hang out with my friends. I felt happy in a way that I haven’t felt... I don’t know, maybe ever.” She sighs.

“I was going to ask Melinda to marry me,” he says quietly. “I’ve wanted to marry her for so long… ” He trails off and then clears his throat. “But now I don’t know if there’s a point to asking her.”

“Because she’s the slayer?”

“It’s not like we’re going to grow old together --” He looks at Skye apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

Skye shrugs, trying to hide how much his words hurt. She knows that they are true, but is nothing something she likes to think about. “It’s okay. I mean, I know you’re right. Slaying doesn’t really come with a retirement age.” She gives him a forced smile. “Although if you guys ever decide to get married, I could slay solo for a while so you guys could go on a honeymoon.”

He smiles at her. “Thanks, Skye. And you’re right about Jemma. I’ll talk to her. Magic makes me uncomfortable,” he admits. “I know it’s part of my job as a Watcher, but after everything with Garrett, it’s not something that I want to deal with. But if she wants to learn, I should be guiding her, not pushing her away.”

“Good. Anyway, I came down here because Jemma mentioned that you were going to break into the museum tonight to look for the magical rock --”

“The Diviner,” he corrects her.

“-- and I wanted to know why you didn’t ask me or Melinda for help. No offense, but you’re not exactly a secret agent.”

“I can be very stealth. I was very good at capture the flag at summer camp. Ask Melinda.” Skye keeps giving him a skeptical look until he finally says, “Okay, yes, I should have asked you guys for help, but I felt weird coming to you for help after everything that happened the past few days.”

“And you thought we’d would rather have to bail you out of jail when you get caught breaking into the museum?” Phil shrugs, and Skye sighs. “You know, I thought that you two getting back together would mean that you would stop being so awkward around each other. You guys obviously want to be together, so stop avoiding each other and just be together. Anyway, meet Melinda outside the museum at 11:00. Tasha and I will handle patrolling tonight.”

*****

Melinda paces outside the museum for several minutes, long enough that she wonders if Phil is even going to show up, before she sees his car drive up the road and park a few feet away beneath a lamppost.

“You’re late,” she says as he walks towards her.

“Sorry. I got distracted at the library.” He kisses her quickly on the cheek.

“Good book on demons?”

“Trying to figure out everything we need to know about the Diviner.”

“It’s a magic rock that gives slayer powers. What else do we need to know?”

Phil does not even crack a smile. “Plenty, like what it’s powers are and whether it’s dangerous. In theory it could be used to give someone incredible powers, although I don’t think anyone knows how. It was lost years ago, but I have reason to believe that it’s here in one of the storage rooms.”

“Skye told me. So how do we get in?”

“There’s a side door we can use,” Phil says. “I still remember the security code from when I used to work here.”

Melinda gives him a skeptical look. “That was a long time ago. You don’t think they’ve changed it?”

“No. They’re not that tech savy around here.” He leads her around to the side door of the museum. The ground is covered in cigarette butts. “The manager comes out here to smoke all the time, and he kept locking himself out, so he hid a key out here.” He reaches up and pulls a loose brick from the wall, revealing a key hidden inside. 

“Who would have thought your summer job at the museum would actually come in handy,” Melinda says as he lets them into the building and disarms the alarm system.

He shrugs. “It looked good on my college applications.”

She smiles fondly. “True. And you were cute in your uniform, in a nerdy way.”

She expects him to say something about how much she likes his nerdy side, but he just gestures down the hall. “The stairs to the storage room are over there.”

As they walk down the darkened hallway, she asks, “So are you going to tell me why you’re upset with me?”

“I’m not upset,” he says quickly.

“You haven’t returned my calls or texts, and you didn’t tell me you were going here. You were just going to do this on your own.”

He shrugs. “I knew I could get in and out by myself.”

She grabs his arm and forces him to stop. “Phil. What’s going on? You’ve been avoiding me all day.”

“I was busy,” he points out.

She glares at him, and he looks away. “Is this about the spell?” she guesses.

He still does not meet her gaze. “I just needed some time to think. About us.”

She purses her lips. “What about us?”

“Seeing what our lives could be like, without all of this hanging over us, it just gave me a lot to think about.” He looks up at her. “I love you Melinda, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If it weren’t for all this slayer stuff --”

“But I am the slayer,” she says quietly. “I have responsibilities. I know you want me to move in with you, but now isn’t a good time. Right now I need to be at home to protect Skye and Tasha.”

He scowls at her. “This isn’t just about that. It’s about our whole future together. I mean, when will you be ready to move in together? A year? Two years? We’ve been dating since we were fourteen.”

She crosses her arms. “I don’t know. I can’t make plans for a future that might never come. I put myself in danger every night to protect the world. I already died once. I can’t forget about all of that just so we don’t have to wait until date night to be alone together.”

"Don't make fun of me," Phil says angrily. "I'm not saying we have to do it tomorrow, but someday I want to get married and have children. Don’t you want those things too?"

Melinda looks stunned, but before she can respond a voice calls out, “Hello, anyone there?”

They both freeze, and Melinda raises her fists. A man steps out of the shadows, his hands raised. She notices that in one hand he is holding something wrapped in a black cloth. She glances at Phil, who gives her a small nod.

He gives them an apologetic smile. "Sorry to interrupt what sounds like a private conversation. Although I'm not sure this is really the best time to talk about your relationship problems."

Phil looks tense. "Dr. Zabo. Is that the Diviner?"

His voice is deceptively calm, almost friendly, but there is something dangerous in his eyes. "You know, I was surprised when I found out that you were the resident Watcher. I was expecting someone older and more knowledgeable, probably with a stuffy British accent.” He looks at Melinda. “And you must be the other slayer. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Melinda and Phil exchange a look. She knows that they cannot let him leave with the Diviner, but she does not feel right attacking a human, especially when he looks so defenseless. Phil tilts his head towards Zabo, and she nods. They still have no idea what he wants with the Diviner, and he seems very chatty. Perhaps if they let him keep talking, he will tell them what his plans are.

“You’ve had quite a tenure as slayer -- six whole years, including your own death. Now that’s impressive. Although for most of that time, you had a fully-trained Watcher. Now you just have Phil.” He throws Phil a dismissive look. “After Fury died, I would have thought the Council would have sent their best to Sunnydale now that there are two of you here. I mean, two slayers, wow! Think of the damage you could do.” His voice rises gleefully, and his eyebrows dance merrily across his face, but his next words are low and dangerous. “But who knows, maybe they’ve written you off. After all, you’ve already died once. Maybe they’re just waiting for both of you to die so they can start over with a brand-new slayer.”

Her eyes narrow. “That’s not how the Watchers’ Council works.”

He gives her a pitying look. “Is that what you really believe? After all this time? You are expendable to them.” Melinda and Phil flinch at the way his voice rises on the word ‘expendable.’ “You aren’t a person to them. Just their instrument to defeat the demons. But no matter what you do, how hard you fight, the demons just keep coming, and eventually the instrument will have to replaced.”

The same thought has crossed Melinda’s mind, but she tries not to react to his words. “Hand over the Diviner,” she says slowly, “and nobody has to get hurt.”

Zabo smiles at Phil. He sounds genuinely impressed as he says, “She’s good. Dedicated. But I know she’s not going to hurt a lowly human like me. I on the hand have no such reservations.” He makes a gesture with his hand, and Phil falls to the ground, a wet streak of blood spreading across his shirt. “I heard about that spell you have to protect you. Pretty nifty piece of magic. Lets see how it stands up to this.”

Melinda rushes to Phil’s side and tries to apply pressure to the wound, but blood keeps seeping through her fingers. She looks at Zabo. “What did you do to him?”

Zabo looks sadly at them. “You know, I didn’t want it to go down like this. I better than anyone understand your pain, Phil. All of the things you want -- marriage, kids -- that’ll never happen, not as long as she’s the slayer. And if you do somehow manage to sneak a little bit of happiness in between all the death and the demons, you can be sure that the Council will find some way to take that from you.”

Phil’s face is pale, but he glares at Zabo. “You don’t know anything about us.”

“I know more than you realize. I was in your shoes once.” He lifts the Diviner. “That’s why I’m doing this. This isn’t just for me. This is for all of us. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t try to stop me.”

He turns and hurries down the hall. Melinda watches him go but does not try to stop him. Instead she takes off her jacket and presses the fabric hard against the wound.

“You should go after him,” Phil says weakly. “I’ll be fine.”

“You know I can’t do that,” she says. 

Blood is still welling up beneath the fabric of her jacket, but as she holds pressure, it seems to be slowing. She prays that the spell is enough to save him and that its power had not been weakened when he died. It takes several more minutes before the bleeding slows to just a trickle and finally stops.

She lifts up his shirt. The wound has closed itself leaving behind his old scar, raw and red.

“That’s quite a spell,” Phil says.

She helps him to his feet slowly. He is weak from blood loss and leans heavily against her shoulder.

“He got away with the Diviner,” he says.

“That doesn’t matter. We’ll deal with that tomorrow. We have to get you home now.”

He nods weakly. “When we get back, we need to contact the Watcher’s Council. From what he said, it sounded like he’s had a run in with them in the past. Maybe they can shed some light on who he is and what he wants with the Diviner.”


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Phil does after getting back to his apartment, even before cleaning up the blood from his shirt, is call the Watchers’ Council. It takes several minutes on hold, arguing with various members of the Council, before they will connect him with Peggy Carter. When they finally do get her on the phone though, she sounds concerned to hear from him.

“Phillip? What’s going on? Is everyone alright?”

Phil puts the call on speaker phone so Melinda can hear as well. “We’re fine for now, but we have a situation here,” he says. “We found the Diviner. Turns out it was hidden in Sunnydale all this time. But when we tried to retrieve it, we ran into a man named Dr. Zabo and he stole it.”

“But we don’t know what he wants with it,” Melinda says. “All he said is that he’s doing this to help the slayers.”

Even though Melinda cannot see her, she can picture Peggy’s raised eyebrow and unflappable expression. “I sincerely doubt that’s the case,” Peggy says. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. We’ll investigate the situation from here.”

Phil looks angry at the dismissal. “With all due respect, we need to know what we’re up against. This guy is here in Sunnydale, and he’s planning to do something to Melinda and Skye. If there’s anything you know, you need to tell us.”

“The name Dr. Zabo is not familiar to me, but I assure you, we will get to the bottom of this and let you know as soon as we have something.”

Phil presses on. “He knew a lot about the Watcher’s Council, and he seemed to have a personal grudge against the Council. Is there anyone like that you can think of who would want to steal the Diviner?”

There is a pause, and then she asks, “What did he say exactly?”

Phil and Melinda exchange a look. They have not told the Council that they are back together because they are not sure how they will react. Phil looks worried, and Melinda shrugs. “He seemed to empathize with Phil,” Melinda says. “He said that he knew the pain of being in love with a slayer and that the Council would steal our chance to be happy together.”

For once Peggy allows a note of panic to creep into her voice. “Did he say anything else?”

“He taunted Melinda. He said the Council didn’t care about her, that if they did they would have sent a real Watcher to Sunnydale, especially because there are two slayers now,” Phil says.

“What about Skye? Did he say anything about her specifically?”

“No. But he addressed Phil and me by name, and he knew a lot about us. I’d bet he knows about her too.”

“Do you know who this man is?” Phil asks.

Peggy pauses, as if debating how much to say. “I don’t know a man named Zabo, but he does remind me of someone. There was an incident about fifteen years ago with a man named Cal Johnson. Back then, he was seeking the Diviner to eradicate the slayer line. That’s why we hid it in Sunnydale.”

“Seems like he found it,” Melinda says.

“Why was he trying to eradicate the slayer line?” Phil asks.

“He had a personal vendetta against the Council. He was involved with a slayer named Jiaying. Her watcher tried to discourage the relationship, but they ran away together. When she found them, Jiaying was dead, and Cal was performing some kind of spell on their baby girl. She managed to get away with the baby and the Diviner, and she hid the Diviner on the Hellmouth in an attempt to keep him from finding it again.”

“And the baby?” Phil asks.

“Left in Los Angeles with social services.” There is a note of bittersweet amusement in her voice. “As fate would have it, she grew up to become a slayer herself.”

Melinda stares at Phil. “Skye.”

“You must not let him get his hands on her. We still don’t know what he was trying to do with her all those years ago, but he has left a trail of bodies in his attempt to find her.”

Melinda swallows hard and tries to calm the panic rising inside her. “We’ll keep her safe.”

“I’ll consult the rest of the Council. Now that the Diviner has been taken, we must figure out what this man intends to do with it.”

“You said Skye’s father left a trail of bodies trying to find her. Do you think he was the one who killed Tasha’s watcher and the potentials?” Phil asks.

“Yes, and Skye’s watcher as well. And there is evidence that he performed powerful magic on some of them before they died. Whatever he’s trying to do, he has no qualms in hurting innocent people to achieve his goals. Be careful.”

“We will. Thank you Peggy,” Melinda says. After hanging up the phone, she looks at Phil. She can tell that he is as worried as she feels. “I should get back home and make sure Skye is alright.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, I can handle it.” Melinda pauses. “I don’t know what I should tell her.”

He looks guilty. “I don’t know that we have to tell her everything,” he says slowly. “It’s only going to upset her, and we don’t want to give her any reason to go looking for Zabo.”

Melinda nods. She feels guilty keeping something this big from Skye, but lying seems a small price to pay in order to protect her. “Right now our priority has to be keeping her safe.”

“I’ll go through the library again tomorrow and see if there’s anything there that could help us,” Phil says.

“And I’ll keep an eye on Skye.” She leans forward and kisses him. “Be careful,” she murmurs in his ear.

He kisses her. “You too. I don’t like this guy knowing so much about us. It’s like he’s been watching us ever since he got into town. I think I’m going to stay with my mom until this is over. If he comes after her, I want to be there to protect her.”

Melinda nods. “I’ll tell my mom to keep an eye on Skye while I’m at work.”

“What about Tasha? Are you going to tell her?”

Melinda shakes her head. “I’m afraid of what she’d do if she found out that he killed her watcher. She’d probably want to go after him herself.”

“Okay. We’ll keep this between us and your mom, at least for now.”

Melinda nods. “I should get going.”

Phil clears his throat. “About earlier --”

“I don’t think now is really the best time to talk about that. Not with Skye’s lunatic father stalking us.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He sighs. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, and I love you.”

His eyes look so sad. She wraps her arms around him and rests her head against his shoulder. “I love you, too,” she says softly.

*****

Neither Melinda or Phil say much about their failed attempt to get the Diviner, but Skye can tell they are upset about something. If Skye thought they were tense and serious before, that is nothing compared to how they are afterwards. She cannot leave the house without Melinda or her mother wanting to know where she is going and who she will be with, even in the middle of the day. Phil starts spending every waking moment at the library with Fitz and Jemma, combing through the stacks and all the books in storage, searching for more information about the Diviner.

“Hey,” Skye tells Melinda, “I know you feel bad about that guy getting away, but we’ll get him. We always do.”

Melinda does not look reassured. “I have a few hours before my shift at the diner. We should go through some drills.”

“Again? We already trained this morning.” She frowns. “Did something happen at the museum? Something you’re not telling me?” Melinda’s eyes flicker away. “It’s just, you seem really worried lately, and if there’s something new to worry about, I think I deserve to know about it.”

For a moment, Skye thinks Melinda is going to tell her, but then a coldness comes over her face. “I don’t need a special reason to tell you to train harder. We go out and slay vampires and demons every night. That’s enough of a reason.”

She would think that they are being completely paranoid, except that she starts to notice some weird things around town. Whenever she leaves the May house, she feels like someone is watching her, and a few time she catches a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of someone in a flowered dress who appears to be following her. There is also a dark haired man who she starts to notice wherever she goes, usually half-hidden behind a book or newspaper. He never comes near her or tries to talk to her, but after the fourth sighting in three days she knows it is more than a coincidence.

When she tells Melinda about him, she just gives her a stern look and says, “I told you that I don’t want you going anywhere alone.”

Skye’s eyes narrow. “You don’t seem surprised. Is this why you’ve been acting so weird lately?”

Melinda ignores her question. “If he tries to talk to you, run.”

Skye rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I know all about stranger danger. But I’m pretty sure I could take him. He’s not like a demon or a vampire, just a regular dude. Who is this creepster anyway?”

Melinda ignores her again. “Tasha and I are going out patrolling tonight. I want you to stay here while we’re gone. No going over to Jemma’s.”

Skye clenches her fists in frustration. She is sick and tired of being left out of discussions between Melinda and Phil, and now they are blatantly ignoring her questions. “Stop treating me like a child. You’re not in charge of me.”

“I’m the senior slayer, and Mom left me in charge tonight,” Melinda says flatly.

She crosses her arms. “Is that how this is going to go from now on? You’re always going to be the senior slayer, so are you going to be bossing me around until one of dies?”

She does not mean for her words to come out so harshly, and she is surprised when Melinda flinches. When she sees hurt in Melinda’s eyes, Skye is about to apologize, but before she can, Natasha bursts into the house.

“There’s been a demon attack in LA.”

Melinda’s eyes widen. “How did you hear about this?”

“Clint called me. There was a demon trashing up his neighborhood in LA. I guess he’s been around enough demon attacks that he can’t just rationalize them away anymore.”

Melinda frowns. “I don’t think there’s anyone from the Council in LA,” she says. “You and I should go check it out tonight.”

“Should I patrol here? I could get Jemma and Trip to come with me,” Skye offers, but Melinda shakes her head.

“Stay here until we get home,” she says firmly.

Natasha gives her weird look. “I’m sure she’s fine on her own,” she says. When Melinda does not answer she sighs. “Whatever. We’d better get going now. Clint said that the thing ripped up an entire street before heading into an orphanage.”

Skye’s stomach twists. “An orphanage?”

“Yeah. Saint Agnes. It’s just around the corner from Clint’s house.”

Skye turns pale. “That’s where I used to live between foster families.”

Natasha looks confused. “That’s a weird coincidence.” She glances at Melinda, who has turned as pale as Skye. 

Skye takes advantage of her hesitation. “I’m coming with you guys.”

“No,” Melinda says quickly.

The frustration from earlier returns and grows into full blown anger. “Melinda! I’m coming with you. That’s the closest thing to a home I have.”

Melinda matches her glare with her own. “No. You two stay here. Phil and I will handle this.”

“You and Phil?” Skye asks, annoyed. She looks at Natasha, who is staring at Melinda incredulously.

Melinda grabs her keys and starts to head towards the door, but Natasha stops her.

“Melinda, we know something’s up. Just tell us what it is.”

Melinda’s mouth is a hard line, but Skye notices a guilty look in her eyes. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t leave the house, and don’t let anyone in the house.”

As soon as she closes the door behind her, Skye collapses onto the couch and punches the cushion. “This is ridiculous. She’s treating me like a little kid. I’m not a kid. I’m a slayer, just like she is.”

Natasha sighs. “I don’t know what’s going on with her. She’s been so on edge lately. Has she said anything to you?”

“Not really. She’s just been super paranoid and controlling. I swear, Nat, I think I’m going to wake up one morning and find a house arrest ankle monitor on my leg.”

She makes a face. “Ugh. Well grab your stake and lets go.”

“Go?”

“Yeah. To LA. I’ll drive, and I bet we’ll beat Phil and Melinda there. She drives like an old lady. We can ask Clint to keep an eye on things until we get there.”

Skye knows that Melinda and Phil will be furious, not to mention Lian, but she does not care. She is tired of them keeping secrets from her. “Let’s go.”

*****

Skye is quiet for most of the drive to LA, and Natasha decides the best thing to do is to leave her to her thoughts. They are about halfway there when Skye asks, “So do you ever miss LA?”

“Sometimes. There were some cool places to hang out, and some cool people.”

“Like Clint?”

A smile tugs at her lips. “Yeah.”

“Was he your boyfriend?”

“Not exactly. We’re friends, but dating him would be complicated. It’s too hard keeping all of this a secret.”

“Right,” Skye says, “I don’t know if there’s a good way to tell a boyfriend that you’re the chosen one. Although it worked out for Phil and Melinda.”

Natasha stares at the road ahead of them and tries to keep the bitterness from creeping into her voice. “I’m not the chosen one. You and Melinda are.”

Skye quickly says, “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Natasha tries to shrug it off. “I know you didn’t. It’s just hard to realize that I dedicated so many years of life to prepare for something that’s never going to happen.”

“You don’t feel lucky?” Skye asks.

She is surprised by Skye’s choice of words. “Lucky? I want to be the slayer. I gave up so much for it. My friends, boyfriends, dancing. Before I found out about slaying, I wanted to be a ballerina, but eventually I had to drop out of ballet school because I had to spend so much time training. I thought it was going to be worth it because I’d be saving the world, but now --”

Skye’s voice is envious. “Now you can do anything. Be anyone. Without the constant threat of dying hanging over your head.”

She shakes her head. “This is what I want to do. I’ve been fighting demons for years. Eventually I decided that I wasn’t going to let all that training go to waste just because some magical rock never gave me superpowers.” She glances over at Skye for a moment, wondering where all this is coming from, but Skye has turned to stare out the passenger side window. “What about you?” she asks gently.

“I don’t think I could walk away either,” she says quietly. “Being the slayer is all I have.”

*****

When Melinda gets to the Coulson house, Phil is already outside, pacing on the front porch. As soon he sees her pull up in front of the house, he grabs his backpack and hurries down to the car.

“What’s all this?” she asks when she sees the overstuffed bag.

“A few spell books and some ingredients that will hopefully come in handy.” He rests the backpack in his lap and hugs it protectively. “I’ve been going through some files that the Council sent over trying to find incidents that could be related to Cal Johnson.”

“Find out anything useful?”

Phil nods. “He’s done stuff like this before, summoning a demon to use as a distraction or to lure someone into a trap. He’s probably somewhere close by the orphanage with all of his potions and spells waiting to kidnap Skye.”

“Any idea what he wants with her?”

He shakes his head. “Still not sure. The Diviner could be used to give himself tremendous powers, like what a slayer has, but I don’t know what that has to do with Skye. Maybe he wants powers so it’ll be easier to kidnap her.”

Melinda shudders. “A guy like that with slayer powers would be very dangerous. I don’t want to think about what he might do with them.”

“Me neither. Until we stop him, I don’t want Skye anywhere near him. I wish we could send her to stay with Peggy until this is over.”

Melinda snorts. “Good luck getting her to agree with that.”

“She’s still giving you a hard time?”

“That’s something of an understatement. Although I don’t completely blame her. She knows something’s up, and she’s pissed that we’re keeping it from her.”

“I feel guilty lying to her too, but it’s for her own good,” Phil says.

“I know, but it’s getting harder. She just keeps pushing.” Melinda sighs. “I think we have to tell her the truth.”

Phil shakes his head. “That’s only going to upset her more. As angry as she is now, how do you think she’ll react to finding out that her father is hunting down slayers?”

“He went after the orphanage to try to draw her out, and it almost worked,” she points out. “I was afraid she wouldn’t let me leave tonight without her. Who knows what he’ll try next? What if he goes after my mom, or your mom, or one her friends? I can’t protect all of them at once.”

“And if she does find out, what happens if Tasha decides to go after him herself? Or what if Skye thinks that she can reason with him because he’s her father?”

Melinda shudders.”Anyone who would kill so many innocent people can’t be reasoned with.” She considers his words for a minute. “I still think we have to tell her. It’s too hard to keep hiding this. I can keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t do anything stupid.”

He sighs. She can tell that he does not like her plan, but they both know that they are running out of options. Finally he says, “You’re right. We’ll tell them once we get back from LA.”

*****

Clint has been texting Natasha updates about what is happening in LA, and as soon as they get to the city, Natasha heads to his apartment. He lives in an old building not far from the orphanage, and when they knock on the door, he ushers them in immediately.

“Glad you guys made it okay. It’s crazy out there,” he says.

“Sounds like it.” Natasha says. “Any more demon sightings?”

Clint shakes his head. “I can’t believe we’re standing around talking about demon sightings,” he says. “But no, ever since it disappeared into the orphanage, it’s been quiet.”

Skye walks over the window. They are high enough that they can just see the top of the orphanage over the rows of houses. “What about the kids?” she asks.

Clint looks sad. “I don’t know,” he admits. “I saw some nuns leading some of the kids out, but I don’t know if they all got out.”

She blinks back tears. She has a lot of memories about Saint Agnes, most of them bad, but it is still the closest thing to a home she had before moving in with the Mays. No matter how many foster homes and group homes she was kicked out of, they would always take her back. She tries to sound tough, but she cannot keep her voice from shaking a little as she says, “Let’s go kick some demon ass.”

Natasha nods. “Thanks for the heads up Clint, and for keeping an eye on things for us. I owe you one.” She gives him a small smile.

He smiles back. “I think after all those times you saved me, I still owe you like a thousand." He glances at Skye, still staring out the window at the LA skyline, and frowns. "Are you sure you guys don’t need some help? I mean, I know you guys are like ninja superheroes, but I know tae kwan do, and I can keep an eye out for trouble.

"That would be great,” Skye says. “If there are still kids in there, they must be terrified. You can make sure they get out safely while Tasha and I handle the demon."

Natasha looks worried, but she nods. "Be careful," she says gently to Clint.

The streets are empty and quiet, but as they draw closer to the orphanage Skye is aware of a deep rumbling, almost a growl, coming from the building. Natasha and Clint must hear it too because they both look even more nervous. Natasha throws Clint a worried glance and he gives her a weak smile back.

By the time they reach the door to the orphanage, the rumbling has become a distinct growl, low and deep, that seems to shake the door on its hinges. Skye places a hand on wood and imagines the demon on the other side, waiting for them, hungry and ready to strike.

"Skye and I will lead the way," Natasha whispers to Clint. "Stay behind us and try to find as many kids as you can. Just get them out of here, and don't worry about me and Skye."

"I can't not worry about you," Clint says.

In the dim light Skye can see him take her hand and give her a reassuring squeeze, and she rolls her eyes. She is going to ask if they can save the flirting for a time when they are not trying to rescue children from a rampaging demon, but she stops herself when she sees the soft smile of Natasha's face. Instead she just clears her throat. "Ready?"

They nod, and Skye yanks open the door. Immediately they are assaulted by the metallic scent of blood mixed with the foul stench of spoiled milk. She grimaces and forces herself to go inside, moving towards the horrible smell. Natasha is right behind her, moving as quietly as Skye as they carefully listen for any sign of the demon. The halls are empty and quiet, but she knows not to be fooled into thinking that the demon is gone. 

When they get to the cafeteria, the stench is almost overpowering, and the sight inside is enough to make Skye's stomach leap into her throat. The walls are smeared with blood, and there are several crumpled bodies screen around the room. Behind her, Natasha gags at the sight and stench of the room.

“Maybe Clint was able to find some survivors,” Skye says shakily.

From back where they came from a scream pierces the air. 

"Or maybe not," Natasha says as they race back towards the entrance.

When they get there, they see Clint backed up against a wall as a ten foot tall demon approached him. The demon is almost impossibly thin, with long narrow limbs tipping with sharp spines that are covered in blood.

Natasha shouts to get the demon's attention and hurls a throwing knife at it. The knife lodges deep into the demons thick, dull green hide, and it turns to face the girls. But before it can get too close to them, an unfamiliar voice cuts through the room chanting in Latin. The demon freezes in place.

Skye turns to see who their unexpected rescuer is, and she is surprised to see the dark haired man who she had seen following her around town.

"You? What are you doing here?"

His eyes are bright with excitement, and he has a cautious smile on his face. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you," he says.

Skye stares at him. His voice is eerily calm considering their situation. He certainly does not seem surprised to see a giant bloody demon beside them, and she wonders if he has been somehow controlling it. "Who are you?"

"My name is Cal." He smiles broadly and reaches out to shake her hand. He moves slowly as if she were a wild animal that he is trying not to startle. 

Skye gives him a wary look and does not reach out to take his hand. "Skye."

His face twists unpleasantly. "That's not your name," he snarls. He takes a deep breath and gives her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about that little outburst. This isn't how I wanted this to go. I wanted our first meeting to be perfect. Maybe with tea and those little almond cookies. But we have to adapt to the circumstances."

She has no idea what this guy is babbling on about, and she glances at Natasha and Clint to gauge their reactions. To her horror she sees that they are frozen in place just like the demon.

Her voice rises with panic. "What did you do to my friends?"

"Shhhh," he coos, "don't fret Daisy, your friends are fine. I just froze them so we could have this moment, just the two of us, without any interruptions."

"Are they alive?"

He gives her an amused smile that sends a chill down her spine. "For the moment. But let's not talk about them. There's so many more important things to talk about, like you. How is school going? I know that you had some trouble with those grades last year. We'll want to work on that next year. Nothing is more important than getting a good education."

She stares at him, not understanding how he can know so much about her, or why he is talking to her in this creepy-calm manner. "Who are you?"

He smiles at her sadly. "Of course you don't remember me. I was hoping you'd feel the same immediate connection that I feel, but maybe this is all too new for you." He takes a deep breath and extends his hand again. "I'm your father."

Of all the things he could have said, this is the last thing she is expecting. She stares at his offered hand dumbly. "You're joking," she says flatly.

"I would never joke about something so important, Daisy. I've been searching for you for so long, so that I could take you home."

"You're insane if you think I'm going anywhere with you." Her voice shakes with anger and disgust. "I mean, you killed all these kids for what? To lure me here?" 

"I didn't want to do that," he pleads, "but the Council left me no choice.” His face twists again into an ugly grimace. “The Council stole you from me. They used this orphanage to keep us apart. I've spent years searching for you.” He must see the terror in her eyes because he takes another deep breath and clenches his fists. “I didn’t want our first meeting to go like this,” he says. “I wanted to do this right, someplace nice, with tea and cookies. But they made that impossible. They made sure you were never alone, and I had to get you alone."

She can hear the desperation in his voice, but she does not know how to even begin processing what he is telling her. She wraps her arms around herself and repeats stubbornly, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

He sighs. "You don't know how much it hurts me to hear you say that," he says with genuine sorrow in his voice, "but it’s really in everyone’s best interest that you come with me." He gestures at Clint and Natasha. "You see, the freezing spell they have on them has not killed them yet, but a body can only remain in suspended animation for so long before it begins to break down."

As if on cue the frozen demon begins to disintegrate, tiny pieces falling away bit by bit like a dandelion puff blown away by the wind. In a moment, the demon is gone leaving only a strange dull green powder on the floor.

"It happens a little faster for demons than for humans," Cal says calmly, "but trust me when I tell you than it will happen to your friends as well. Of course you can wait around and gamble that Phil gets here in time and can reverse the spell." His genial smile twists into a sneer when he says Phil's name. "But I wouldn’t recommend it. This is a spell of my own creation, and I doubt there is anyone on Earth who could break it in time." 

She looks at Clint and Natasha. "And if I go with you, you'll release them?"

He stares at her earnestly. "You have my word."

Skye wonders if she can really trust him, but she does trust him when he says that Natasha and Clint will die if she does not go with him. She nods slowly, and his face breaks into a huge smile.

"Great! Let's go! And on the way home we can stop by the store and get something special. Do you like ice cream? Because this is definitely a day to celebrate with some ice cream."

Skye resists the urge to scream in frustration. "What about my friends?"

"Oh yes, them." 

He waves his hand and they both fall to the ground. Skye runs to Natasha's side. She is breathing again, and her skin is warm. Skye glares up at Cal, and he raises his hands.

"They'll wake up in about an hour, with nothing worse than a headache. Promise. Now we have to go before someone else interrupts us."

She casts one last look at Clint and Natasha. She wants to stay with them, but after seeing what he is capable she does not want to risk making him angry. Hopefully Melinda and Phil will be here soon to take care of them. "Fine," she says, "let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

They start seeing signs of the demon’s destruction when they are still a mile from the orphanage. Several streets have been closed, and traffic is backed up in the entire neighborhood. Finally Melinda gives up trying to force her way through the chaos and pulls the car over.

“It’s just going to get worse as we get closer,” she tells Phil. “We’re better off walking from here.”

Phil nods and grabs his backpack. They hurry down the abandoned streets, past overturned cars and smashed windows. On one block a fire hydrant has been knocked over, flooding part of the street. At first glance the destruction appears to be random, but Melinda notices that it leads to the orphanage and then stops.

“The demon must still be inside,” Phil says, and Melinda nods. He grabs his crossbow out of his backpack, then glances at Melinda. “Ready?”

She nods again and slowly opens the door to the orphanage. They steel themselves to face a rampaging demon, but neither are prepared for what they do see. Just inside the doorway, Clint and Natasha lie crumpled on the floor, both unconscious. Melinda falls to Natasha’s side and checks for a pulse.

“She’s alive,” she announces after a few tense moments, “but she’s unconscious and barely breathing.”

Phil kneels next to Clint and checks for a pulse as well. “Him too.” He pulls a few ingredients out of his bag. “This looks like a sleeping spell. Cal’s used that on his victims before. I have something in here that will reverse it.”

He mixes some powders together and sprinkles a few drops of oil on top, which causes a thick purple smoke that smells vaguely like rotting fruit to rise up from the mixture. As it fills the room, Clint and Natasha begin coughing and wheezing, and their eyes flutter open.

“What happened?” Clint gasps between coughing fits.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Melinda demands. “And where is Skye? I told you two to wait at home.”

Natasha stares defiantly back at her. Her voice is hoarse, but she sounds as angry as Melinda. “You can’t just order us around. You’ve been keeping secrets from us, so we came here to get them for ourselves.”

“Look, we can talk about this at home,” Phil interrupts. “But where’s Skye? We have to get her out of here.”

“You mean before her dad can find her? Too late, dude,” Clint says. 

Melinda and Phil stare at him. “Her father was here?” Phil asks just as Melinda asks, “How did you know that he’s her father?”

Natasha nods. “He came in while Skye and I were trying to kill the demon. He froze Clint and me, and then he told Skye that he’d kill us if she didn’t go with him. After she agreed, he unfroze us and put us to sleep.”

“Where did he take her?”

“He said he was taking her home,” Natasha says.

“He was kind of unhinged,” Clint adds. “He asked her if she wanted to celebrate with some ice cream.”

“He’s a murderer,” Melinda says flatly. “He’s the one who has been hunting watchers and potential slayers.”

Natasha’s face is stoic, but Melinda can tell how upset she is from the look in her eyes. “And you didn’t think Skye and I needed to know about this?”

Melinda and Phil exchange a look. “We were trying to protect you,” Melinda says.

Natasha raises her eyebrows at Melinda. “And how’d that work out for you?”

“Not so well,” Melinda admits. “We should have told you the truth.”

Phil looks nervously around the orphanage. “And we’ll put all the cards on the table. But right now we need to get out of here before he sends something else after us. Then we can try to figure out where he’s taken Skye and what he wants with her.”

*****

Cal will not tell Skye where they are going, but she is familiar enough with LA to realize that they are heading back towards Sunnydale. While he drives, he fills the car with a constant chatter about everything from the LA traffic to the high cost of living in southern California to the lack of good local schools.

She lets the words wash over her as she runs through everything that he said back at the orphanage, trying to find some clue as to what he wants with her. She is not even sure if she can trust that he is her father, but her gut tells her that he is not lying about that. 

“This isn’t exactly where I imagined raising you, Daisy, but if you really like it here, we’ll make it work. I know you’ve made some friends at school, and that Jemma seems like a nice girl. Or if you want to start over, we can do that too. Whatever you want.” He grins eagerly at her. “There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you. You know that, right?”

Skye shudders. “I agreed to come with you to save my friends. You didn’t say anything about kidnapping me permanently.”

She presses herself against the door and grabs the door handle, ready to throw herself out of the car in case the mention of kidnapping sends him into a rage, but he just sighs. “Daisy, I’m not kidnapping. This is a rescue. I finally rescued you from the Watcher’s Council. Your mom is going to be so proud of me when she sees you.”

She turns away from the window to stare at him. “My mom?”

His smile widens when he sees her interest. “Yep. She’s waiting for us at home. I was going to call ahead, but I think I’d rather not ruin the surprise.” He frowns. “I mean it’s not a total surprise, but your mom wasn’t sure you’d come to LA without the Council. Are you hungry? Because she’s making a special dinner in honor of your homecoming. And your room is all ready for you too. It’s been ready for months. You like white and yellow, don’t you? Because we decorated your room all in white and yellow, just like a daisy.”

Skye can barely keep up with his stream of conversation. All she can think about is her mother, alive and waiting for her. As a little girl, she used to dream about meeting her mother constantly, and every time she saw a woman with dark hair, she imagined that it was her mother coming to rescue her. However, she had given up on that dream a long time ago. Now the closest that she allows herself is when she imagines that Lian is not just her foster mother but her real mother, and that Melinda is her real sister.

“Do I -- do I have any brothers or sisters?” she asks hesitantly.

“No.” He looks sad. “Your mom and I thought about it, but it seemed too much like trying to replace you. And we could never replace our Daisy. We never gave up hope that we would find you someday. But who knows, now that we’re all back together, maybe we can get you a little brother or sister to play with.” He winks at her. 

Skye gives him a small smile back and then immediately feels guilty. No matter how charming and happy he seems now, she has seen just what he is willing to do to get his hands on her. He almost killed her friends and hurt an orphanage full of children. She should be plotting how to knock him out and report him to the Watcher’s Council. She stares out the window as the scenery zips past them. She tells herself that she is only lulling him into a false sense of security by playing along with his happy family act, but deep down she knows that that is not completely true.

*****

Back at the May house, Natasha and Melinda stare awkwardly at each other while Phil calls Peggy in England to tell her about Skye’s kidnapping. This time it takes only a minute before he is connected directly to her.

“Peggy’s getting on the first flight out,” Phil says when he hangs up the phone. “She’ll be here tomorrow.”

Natasha crosses her arms. “Did she say anything else about Skye’s dad?”

“No, but I got the feeling that she was keeping something from me,” Phil says. Melinda shoots him a dirty look, but he stands his ground. “I know that she was your first watcher, but the Council lives on secrets. They’re not going to tell us any more than they have to.”

The idea that Peggy could be keeping something from her hurts, but Melinda knows Phil is right. After all, she has been doing the same thing to Skye and Natasha. “I’ll meet Peggy as soon as she gets in tomorrow,” she says. “In the meantime we need to figure out a way to find Skye.”

“I’ve been working with Fitz and Jemma on a way to track the Diviner, and I think we’re getting close,” Phil says. “I’ll try to finish that up tomorrow.”

“You guys haven’t found it yet,” Natasha says, “what makes you think tomorrow’s going to be any different?”

“Do you have a better idea?” Phil snaps.

They are so busy bickering that they do not hear the footsteps coming down the stairs. They only realize someone else has joined them when they hear Lian May clear her throat loudly and ask, “What is going on?”

“I’m sorry we woke you, Mom,” Melinda says.

Lian fixes her daughter with a piercing look. “That wasn’t what I asked.”

“We just got back from a mission in LA that didn’t go exactly as planned,” Melinda says. “We’re just planning out our next moves, but we’ll be more quiet.”

Lian surveys the room slowly, and her frown deepens. “Where is Skye?”

Melinda can feel her friends’ eyes turn towards her. She stares uncomfortably at the floor. “She didn’t make it home,” she says quietly.

Lian’s voice rises. “Melinda, where is she?”

“We don’t know. Her father lured her to LA, and he kidnapped her.” She still cannot meet her mother’s stern gaze.

“He almost killed Clint and me,” Natasha says. “Skye had to go with him to save us.”

Lian presses her lips together. “And how are you going to get her back? Have you called the police?”

“We called Peggy Carter,” Phil says. “She’ll be here tomorrow morning.”

“What can the police do?” Melinda asks. “He uses magic.”

“He’s still a man. What do you know about him?”

“Not much. He owns a magic store in Sunnydale, but the last time Phil went there, they said he had left town.”

“I’m working on a spell to locate him,” Phil offers.

Natasha rolls her eyes. “He’s been working on that spell for ages.”

“Fine,” Lian says quickly before they can argue again. “Phil will work on his spell. Tasha and Melinda will search on foot. Start at the magic shop. Someone in this town must know where he’s staying.” She glances at Clint, who up until now has been sitting silently on the couch with his head in his hands. “Who is this?”

“This is my friend, Clint,” Natasha says. “He was with us in LA. I’ll take him home in the morning.”

Clint still looks woozy from the spell, but he shakes his head. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to stay and help.”

“Good,” Lian says. “You can help Natasha and Melinda. And call Trip and Mack in the morning too. The more people the better.”

Melinda nods. Exhaustion and worry have caught up with her, and she has to blink back tears. “I’m sorry, Mom. I should have protected her.”

Lian’s voice softens. “What’s done is done, Melinda. Now we need to focus our energies on bringing her home as soon as possible.”

*****

Cal exits the freeway about twenty miles outside of Sunnydale and winds his way through so many back roads that Skye is completely disoriented by the time he pulls up to a house in the middle of nowhere. They could be halfway back to LA, or only a mile from the Sunnydale city limits, and she has no way of knowing which is true.

She gets out of the car, and Cal ushers her up to the front door and lets himself in. “Jiaying!” he announces as soon as he steps into the entryway. “Look who I brought!”

Jiaying must have been waiting for them because before he even finishes his sentence, she steps into the entryway. As soon as she sees them, the cautious optimism on her face melts into a relieved smile.

“Welcome home,” she says.

“Skye,” she says quickly before Jiaying can call her Daisy like Cal. “My name is Skye.” She crosses her arms and looks warily from Jiaying to Cal.

Cal looks sad, but Jiaying’s smile never wavers. “Skye. Would you like something to drink? Or maybe you’d like something to eat?” Skye nods, and Jiaying smiles at Cal gently. “Cal, can you bring us some tea?”

Cal nods eagerly. “Of course. And maybe some cookies?”

Jiaying nods. “Perfect. Thank you.” As soon as he is gone, Jiaying turns to Skye. “I know this is a lot to process. I want you to know how happy we are to have found you.”

While Cal is full of nervous excitement, Jiaying exudes a calm that puts Skye at ease. “You’re really my mom?” Skye asks.

Jiaying nods. There are tears in her eyes as she says, “The day you were born was the happiest day of my life. July 2. We were so happy to meet you, but we only had a few months together before --” She clears her throat. “We searched for you for so many years. Sometimes I doubted that we would ever find you, but Cal never gave up.”

“He hurt people. The kids at St. Agnes --”

“You have to understand how desperate we were to find you.” She smiles at Skye. “We both had to do things over the years that we’re not proud of, but I can’t regret them when you’re here with us now.”

“Then how did I end up at St. Agnes? If you and Cal were looking for me all these years, why did I grow up alone?”

“You were taken from us by the Watchers’ Council.” Skye stares at her in shock, and Jiaying says, “When I was seventeen, a woman from the Watchers’ Council told me that I was the slayer. She sent me out to slay my first vampire with no preparation, no training…” She sighs. “Somehow I survived. After that she trained me just enough to keep me from dying each time I went out. The only person who truly cared for me was Cal. He was a study abroad student from Wisconsin. We met when I saved him from a vampire, and after that he did whatever he could to help me.” She smiles sadly. “We fell in love, but the Council didn’t exactly approve of the slayer having a boyfriend.”

“They tried to break you two up?”

“When I became pregnant with you, we fled Beijing to a small village where my grandmother lived. We just wanted to get away from the Council, to live as a family in peace, but eventually they found us, and they took you.”

Skye shakes her head. “Why would they do that?” She frowns. “And if you were the slayer, and you’re still alive, then how did I become the slayer?”

“Cal and I just wanted to be left alone, and we knew the Council would never stop looking for me as long as I was the slayer. We thought that if we could find a way to use magic to remove my slayer powers, the Council would have another slayer, and I would be free to have a normal life.”

“Remove your slayer powers?”

Jiaying nods. “I never wanted to be the slayer. I didn’t want the responsibility, and I didn’t want to die for the Council. I just wanted to be left alone with my family.”

“So what happened?”

“Something went wrong with the spell, and I died. By the time Cal found a way to bring me back, we’d lost you.” There is a note of bitterness in her voice. “Cal’s magic showed that you were a potential slayer, and the Council wanted to make sure you were under their control in case you were ever chosen.”

Skye crosses her arms to keep from shaking. Being a slayer is all she has, and Melinda, Phil, and Lian are the closest thing she has to a family. The idea that the Watcher’s Council, and by extension they, could be involved in kidnapping her from her parents disturbs her deeply. “How did you find me?”

“Cal and I actually came here because we were looking for the Diviner. Finding you was just a happy coincidence. Cal and I have continued studying the slayer powers, and we’ve found a way to use the Diviner to end the slayer line.” She pauses for a moment to let her words sink in. “You’ll be free, Skye. You won’t be their weapon anymore. You won’t have to go out and risk your life night after night on your watcher’s orders. You can have a normal life. All of the potential slayers can. They won’t have to be turned into slaves for the Council.”

“But what about the vampires? It’s our responsibility --”

“No, it’s not,” Jiaying says sharply. “It’s not our responsibility, it’s theirs. The Watchers’ Council chose to dedicate themselves to fight demons and vampires, but they force the slayers to do their bidding.” Jiaying gives Skye a pleading look. “You’re a teenaged girl, not a soldier. You deserve to be safe and happy.”

Skye cannot help but think about how happy she had felt under the effects of Cal’s spell. “That’s why Cal stole the Diviner.”

Jiaying nods. “He did it for you, Skye, and me, and all of the potential slayers.”

Her eyes begin to sting with tears, and she rapidly blinks them away. The day has been more exhausting and confusing than she thought possible, and her body is a jumble of emotions. There is fear and disgust for sure at the fact that her parents have kidnapped her, but that is also mixed with excitement and love. Not only is she finally meeting her parents, but she is also finding out that her childhood dream was true all along. They really have been searching for her and trying to protect her all this time.

Jiaying must seen how overwhelmed she is because she slowly steps towards her and tentatively puts her arms around her. “It’s been quite a day,” she murmurs. “You look like you need sleep more than anything right now.”

Skye rests her head against her mother’s shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Then I’ll show you to your room. We can talk more in the morning.”

She leads Skye up the stairs to the second floor and opens the door to a large bedroom. It is beautifully furnished with an antique four poster bed. Skye barely has time to take in her surroundings before she collapses onto the bed and falls into a deep sleep.

*****

Peggy looks surprised to see Melinda waiting for her when she steps out of her taxi from the airport.

“Melinda,” she says, “I was expecting to meet you and Phillip at the library later.”

“I wanted to talk to you first without everyone else.”

Peggy raises an eyebrow. “That sounds serious.” She pays the cab driver and gestures towards the house. “Why don’t we go inside?”

Melinda grabs Peggy’s bag for her and follows her into the house. The house has been maintained by the Watcher’s Council for many years. Though currently empty, it is where Nick Fury had lived and before him Peggy Carter. Both of them had kept the house sparsely decorated with few personal items, but Melinda notices a picture of her and Phil at their high school graduation, smiling together in their cap and gowns.

“Thank you for taking my bag, you can just leave it in the living room,” Peggy says. “Shall I make us some tea?” She notices Melinda’s attention drawn to the photo and smiles sadly. “Nick was so proud that he got you to your graduation. It’s quite an accomplishment for a slayer. But of course you are not an ordinary slayer.”

Melinda swallows hard. “I miss him.”

“So do I. He was a good friend. I was happy that he took over for me when I left to head the Watchers’ Council. I knew I could trust him to take care of you.”

“He was a good watcher,” Melinda says. “I know he was nervous about my being involved with Phil, but he trained him and looked out for both of us.” She pauses. “You were nervous about Phil too. You didn’t want me to be involved with him. Is that because of what happened with Skye’s mother?” Peggy’s silence confirms what she has already guessed. “You were Skye’s mother’s watcher, weren’t you?”

Peggy nods ever so slightly. “Jiaying was an unfortunate case,” she says. “We did not recognize her as a potential until she was activated. She wasn’t prepared for the responsibility as you were, and she was always resentful of it.” Peggy sighs. “I was never able to earn her trust completely. When Cal came into her life, it drove an even deeper wedge between us. Truthfully I wasn’t surprised when they finally ran away together.”

“Is that why Fury got Phil involved in this world too? So I wouldn’t run away with him.”

“We knew you would never do that,” Peggy says. “You have a sense of duty that Jiaying never felt. Training him was to protect both of you. Nick could tell that Phillip would never let you face the dangers of slaying alone, and he didn’t want him to get hurt, or for you to have deal with losing him.”

Melinda nods quietly. “I know I have to do this, but it’s harder when I have to worry about the people I care about.” She stops herself, not sure how much she can share with Peggy. Every time she thinks about Skye’s parents, she is reminded of herself and Phil. Cal had been right when he said that he understands their pain. They never will truly be able to be together, with a family and a whole future ahead of them, as long as she is the slayer.

Peggy gives her a quizzical look, as if she can tell the direction that Melinda’s thoughts are taking, and Melinda quickly changes the subject back to business. “Phil is working at the library now, trying to come up with a way to locate Skye and the Diviner, and Tasha and some of Skye’s friends are searching for her around town.”

“Good. We should go to the library. Our experts on the Diviner found something that should help Phil locate it.”

*****

“Is Daisy still asleep?” Cal asks when he joins Jiaying on the patio for breakfast.

Jiaying looks up from the newspaper and gives him a smile. “Yes. She was exhausted after everything that happened yesterday.” She frowns. “Are you sure that the sleeping spell didn’t affect her?”

He holds up his hands defensively. “Not a bit. I promise. I would never do anything to hurt our baby.”

She smiles. “I know. She’s lucky to have a father as devoted as you.”

He smiles and places his hand over hers. “I’m the lucky one. A wonderful wife and a perfect daughter.” He clears his throat. “You know, now that our family is finally whole again, we don’t have to keep going with the other part. We could go anywhere in the world, and start over as a family.”

Jiaying shakes her head. “No,” she says forceful. “We have to see this through. Daisy’s still not safe with us. As long as she’s the slayer, the Council will never let her go.”

Cal looks down. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get them both,” he says. “I didn’t think she would come with just the potential, and I’ve already done enough tests on them.”

She touches his cheek. “This is just a temporary setback,” she says gently. “How soon is your spell going to be ready for testing?”

“It’s ready now. I ironed out the final kinks this morning. It’s as ready as it’ll ever be.”

“Perfect.” Jiaying smiles. “Now we just need a slayer to test it on.”


	7. Chapter 7

When Skye wakes up, it takes her a moment to remember where she is and what happened. She sits up and takes a few minutes to take in her surroundings. She had been so exhausted the night before that she had barely noticed anything before falling asleep. But now she is shocked to realize just how elaborately the bedroom is decorated. There is something both sweet and strange about how much detail her parents have put into it, from the bedspread printed with daisies to the fresh daisies on the desk. There are even books on the bookcase. Some of them are well-worn, probably leftover from her parents' childhoods, but she also spots copies of books she read lasts year in English class, including a brand-new copy of Jane Eyre.

She is still wearing the clothes that she had on the day before, and she checks the closet and dressers for a change of clothes. Sure enough, there is a full wardrobe waiting for her. It is pretty generic -- mostly jeans and t-shirts -- but she notices a shirt exactly like one she already owns and wears often, and a weird tingle goes up her spine. She grabs something else to change into, a plain black t-shirt and jeans, and then goes downstairs to find her parents. She finds them out on the patio, reading the paper and having breakfast.

“Good morning sleepy-head,” Cal says warmly when he sees her. “How are you feeling? Sleep okay? Do you want some breakfast?”

“Okay,” Skye says.

“What do you want? Pancakes? Eggs? Waffles? Bacon?” He spreads his arms widely. “We’ve got it all.”

“Pancakes sound great,” Skye says.

“One batch of pancakes coming up. And I’ll even throw some chocolate chips. How does that sound? And maybe a side of bacon too.” He grins at her. “A good day starts with a good breakfast.” He gets up from the table and hurries off to the kitchen. After he leaves, Skye gives her mother a look, and they share a smile.

“He’s just excited to have you here with us,” Jiaying says.

“I can tell,” Skye says.

“He wants to make sure everything is perfect for you. We both do. Is your room okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, it had everything I could have possibly wanted.”

"We probably went a little overboard,” she admits. “When we first moved in we just got a few essentials, but the more we got, the more we wanted to get to make sure it felt homey. But if there’s anything you want to change, just let us know.”

“It’s great, really,” Skye says, “but… well, how long am I going to be here?”

“This is your home now, Skye.” Underneath her gentle words, Skye can sense that this is not an offer but an order.

“Well, at the very least I need to go back to Sunnydale,” Skye says. “Let Lian and Melinda know I’m okay. Get my stuff.” Most of her things in the May house are things that Lian had bought her, but there are a few mementos that she brought with her from LA that she would hate to lose.

Jiaying shakes her head. “I can’t let you do that. It isn’t safe for you.”

“But it’s Lian and Melinda,” Skye protests. “They’re my foster family.”

“We’re your family,” Jiaying says sharply, but when she sees Skye flinch slightly, she softens her tone. “Now that we’ve finally found you, we’re going to start over together, as a family, and give you the happy life that you deserve. Don’t you want that too?”

Skye nods. She has dreamed of being rescued by her parents so many times when she was bouncing between foster families or stuck at St. Agnes. Now that it is actually happening, everything feels surreal. Part of her keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop, and in the back of her mind, there is a growing voice telling her that their devotion to her is a little too intense. But despite that, they are still her parents. She cannot walk away from them.

“I do, but I still can’t leave the Mays without at least telling them that I’m okay.”

Jiaying strokes her cheek. “What a special girl you are,” she murmurs. “So loving and caring, when the world has shown you nothing but cruelty and pain.” She sighs and hesitates before saying, “If it means so much to you, then yes, you may see them one more time. But your father will go with you to protect you.” She raises her hand to silence any protests Skye might have. “Just humor us on this one. After everything we’ve been through, it’s hard for us to let you out of our sight.”

“Okay,” she says. “But I promise that you can trust them and me.”

“We do trust you, Daisy, but I’m afraid that experience has taught us that we cannot trust anyone involved with the Council.”

“What’s that about the Council?” Cal asks emerging from the kitchen with a plate piled high with chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. “Have they found us? Do we need to go on the run?” He looks around the patio quickly as if expecting to see people jumping out of the bushes to attack them.

Jiaying touches his arm. “Everything is fine, Cal. We’re safe here,” she says soothingly. “Daisy and I were just talking about what our plans are. She wants to go back to Sunnydale to say goodbye to the people she has been staying with.”

Cal looks horrified and slams her plate on the table. A few pieces of bacon fall onto the floor, and Skye looks mournfully at them. “Them? No! She can’t go back to them! I won’t allow it!”

Jiaying strokes his arm. “Cal. Shh. It’s alright. We talked about it, and I think it’ll be fine.”

“They’re only going to take her away from us again. They’ll probably hand her over to the Council so they can turn her against us, or hide her so we never see her again.”

“Daisy feels like she needs to do this,” Jiaying says. “I said that she can go so long as you are there to protect her.”

Cal looks terrified, but finally he nods slowly. “If you think it’s for the best,” he tells Jiaying. To Skye he says, “Promise me that you’ll be careful, and stay close to me.”

Even though his outbursts still scare her, Skye cannot help but be touched by his concern for her. “I promise.”

*****

When Peggy and Melinda get to the library, they find Phil, Fitz, and Jemma hard at work. Phil and Fitz are pouring through old spell books while Jemma is sketching out spell diagrams on a large piece of butcher paper that is spread out over the table. 

Phil rises when they enter. “Peggy, thank you for coming all this way.”

“Of course, Phillip. Melinda has brought me up to speed with what you’re up against. Any progress with the locator spell?”

He gestures at the table. “Some, but we’re still missing some key information about the energy signature of the Diviner.”

“Perhaps this will help.” Peggy pulls a notebook out of her purse. “Our experts on the Diviner compiled these notes for you before I left.”

“Thank you.” He opens the notebook and flips through the pages. “This is exactly what we need.” He hands the book to Jemma. Her eyes light up when she sees the notebook, and she quickly starts scribbling calculations on the margins of the spell diagram.

Peggy smiles. “Your magical knowledge has become quite impressive.”

“It isn’t just me,” he says. “Jemma and Fitz have done a lot, and Jemma especially has a natural talent for magic.”

Peggy looks impressed. “Perhaps when this is all over, you could visit the Council in England for a bit. We have a number of skilled witches in our employment who could help you with your training.”

“That would be wonderful,” Jemma stammers. “Thank you.”

She looks at Phil a little nervously, and he gives her a reassuring smile. “I think it sounds like a good idea,” he says.

“Now,” Peggy says looking around the library, “how is the other side of the search coming? Any word from Natasha?”

“Not for a while. She called a few hours ago and said that they weren’t having a lot of luck. Only a few people remembered seeing Cal, and none of them could give any details about him,” Phil says.

“I should go give her a hand,” Melinda says. “Leave you guys to the magical stuff here.”

“Okay,” Phil says. “Thanks for stopping by.” She can tell by the way he licks his lips and glances at Peggy that he wants to kiss her but feels uncomfortable doing it in front of Peggy.

Melinda rolls her eyes fondly and gives him a quick kiss. “I’ll let you know as soon as we find anything.”

Natasha and Clint are working their way through the east side of town, while Mack and Trip are searching downtown by the magic shop. Melinda decides to join Natasha and Clint in their search since they are not as familiar with Sunnydale, but first she stops by her house to pick up a few things.

She is grabbing a couple of weapons to slip into her pockets when she hears the front door open. Curious, she slowly creeps up the basement stairs. Her mother is at work, Natasha is searching for Skye, and there is no one else who might be coming in unannounced in the middle the day.

She raises her knife in case she needs to defend herself and quickly heads towards the front door, but when she gets there she almost drops her knife in shock. Skye is standing in the entryway, completely unharmed and checking her phone like she does when she is bored. Melinda stares at her. “Skye? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, hey Melinda,” she says calmly. “There you are. I was wondering where everyone was. I was about to text you.”

“What happened to you last night?”

She hears a chuckle from upstairs, and Melinda turns to see Cal, standing at the top the stairs. “She didn’t escape,” he laughs. “That would imply that she’s our prisoner.”

Melinda raises her knife again and glances at Skye. “What is he doing here?”

“I brought him here,” Skye says. “He’s my father.” She looks at Melinda as if gauging her reaction. “But you knew that already, didn’t you?”

Melinda does not answer, her eyes are too focused on Cal as he descends the stairs, but her silence says enough.

“How could you not tell me that?” Skye demands. “Didn’t you think I had the right to know that my parents were looking for me?”

“Parents?” she asks, surprised. Peggy had said that Cal had killed Jiaying years ago, but she has heard of spells that at least in theory could raise the dead. She wonders what it means for them if Cal has truly mastered such powerful magic.

“Don’t act like you didn’t know,” Skye snaps. “I bet you’ve known all along that the Council stole me from my parents and threw me in foster care.”

“We can talk about this later,” Melinda says slowly. “But right now we need to get out of here.” She glances at Cal, who is now standing at the foot of the stairs. His eyes are flickering between Skye and Melinda, and he looks like a tiger, just waiting for the right moment to pounce on his prey.

“I came here because I didn’t want you and Lian to worry about me,” Skye says, “but that doesn’t mean I’m back to stay.”

“Skye, you can’t seriously be considering staying with this man.” The words leave her mouth before she can worry about what impact they will have on Cal. She glances at him, but thankfully he looks merely amused by her outburst. Still, she grips her knife tighter and prepares herself to fight him at the first sign of trouble. “He hurt Tasha and Clint and all those children at St. Agnes.”

“Actually,” Cal interrupts, “I didn’t hurt the children. Most of them got away. At least I think they did. And your friends Tasha and Clint are fine, right?” Melinda scowls, but nods ever so slightly, and he beams at Skye. “See Daisy. I told you that you could trust your old dad. I’ll never lie to my baby girl.” His tone darkens. “Unlike the Council.”

Melinda ignores him and turns her focus back to Skye. “You can’t seriously be leaving Mom and me to go stay with him.”

“They’re my parents,” Skye says. “I appreciate everything you and your mom have done for me, but right now I want to be with them.”

Cal nods vigorously. “You belong with us. Not here, under the Council’s thumb..” He glares at Melinda. “You know, I thought you would understand me. I thought you’d have some sympathy for everything I’ve gone through. But the Council has turned you into nothing but a slayer robot. I pity Phil for loving someone so cold and heartless.” He reaches for Skye. “Daisy is nothing like you, and I’m going to make sure that she never will be. Come on Daisy.”

Melinda tries to keep her face impassive as he speaks, though the words hurt more than she would like to admit, but the second he moves towards Skye, she kicks him in the chest. “Don’t touch her.”

The blow is so strong that it knocks him off his feet, and he falls against the wall. Skye rushes to his side, and the last thing Melinda sees is a triumphant glint in his eye right before he raises his arms and a wave of darkness envelops her.

*****

The spell will require large quantities of jasmine and lavender, and while Skye and Cal go into Sunnydale, Jiaying distracts herself by tending to their herb garden. The chore takes longer than she anticipates, and she is still trying to coax as much power as possible out of their plants when she hears the car pull up in the driveway. She lingers outside and peers through the glass, wanting to know if their trip has been successful before she greets them. After a moment she sees Cal carry the slayer into the house with Skye trailing behind him, and she smiles to herself, pleased at how perfectly her plan had worked. But when Cal comes out to the patio to greet her, she is surprised by how upset he looks.

She frowns. “What’s wrong? I saw you brought the slayer back this time.”

“I got her, but now Daisy is furious. She would barely even speak to me on the way home, and she’s insisting on sitting by her bedside until she wakes up. I’m afraid it may have driven her away from us.”

“Did you make sure that she threw the first blow?”

“Yes, yes. Just like you said. She kicked me in the chest and knocked me against the wall, but Daisy doesn’t even care.” His voice cracks, and Jiaying wonders if he is going to burst into tears. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“I’ll talk to her,” she assures him. “I’m sure she’ll see reason once I explain it to her. Daisy has a big heart though. We may have underestimated how much she cares for these people.”

Cal scowls. “She should care for us. We’re her family, not them.”

“She will. In a few days this will all be over, and we can start over. We just have to be patient.” Jiaying touches his cheek. “The important thing is that you got the slayer. I’ll go talk to Daisy while you get set up for the next stage.”

*****

While her parents talk downstairs, Skye paces anxiously in her bedroom waiting for Melinda to wake up. Every few minutes she glances at her unconscious form, sprawled across the bed. Her father has assured her that she will wake up soon, completely unharmed, but Skye is not feeling very trusting of anyone after what happened at the May house. She keeps running through what happened at the May house over and over again in her mind, trying to figure out how things got so out of hand. 

She is relieved when Melinda begins to stir. It takes a moment for her to completely wake up, but as soon as she is, she sits bolt upright in bed and looks around suspiciously. 

“Where am I? What happened?”

“It’s okay,” Skye says. “I’m here, Melinda. You’re safe.”

“What the hell happened?”

“You attacked my father, and he panicked,” she says. “But it’s okay now. He calmed down in the car, and now he’s talking to my mom. She can handle him.”

Melinda stares at her incredulously. “He kidnapped me. This is anything but okay. We have to get out of here.” She swings her feet over the edge of the bed, but her knees buckle beneath her as soon as she tries to stand.

Skye moves to steady her and help her back into bed. “He said that you might be a little woozy when you first wake up. Just try to relax.”

Melinda stares at her as though she cannot believe what Skye is saying. “Relax? What happened to you, Skye? Why are you justifying this mad man?”

“He’s my father,” Skye says defensively. “I’m not trying to justify him, but I understand where he’s coming from. The Watchers’ Council destroyed his family, and he’s just trying to get that back. You didn’t have to attack him back there.”

“He was going to hurt you,” Melinda protests, but Skye shakes her head.

“He wouldn’t do that. He’s my father, and he loves me.” No matter how uncertain she may feel about her parents right now, in her heart, she knows that this much is true.

Melinda glares at Skye. “So then why did he kidnap me if he’s such a good guy?”

“He panicked. You hurt him pretty badly, and he was afraid that you were going to hurt me, so he used a sleeping spell to stop you. He was afraid that you would come after us as soon as you woke up, so he insisted on taking you with us. Now that we’re home, I’m sure my mom will calm him down. He’s kind of extreme, but she’s a lot more reasonable.” She gives Melinda a pleading look. “I’m going to try to convince them to let you go, but you have to stay calm, so they’ll believe you’re not a threat.”

Melinda falls silent. She looks like she is trying to process everything that Skye is saying. Then she asks, “So your mother is here too?”

“You didn’t know that?”

“I was told that your father killed your mother.”

Her mother had mentioned that had happened as a side effect of one of his spells, but she made it sound like only a minor inconvenience. Skye does not know how to explain that to Melinda without making her father sound like some kind of mad scientist, so she just says, “Well, she’s here, and she’s fine. They’ve both been searching for me ever since the Council took me from them.”

“And trying to wage war on the Watchers’ Council.” She glares at Skye. “I can’t believe you’re going along with them.”

Her accusatory tone pushes Skye to jump on the defensive. “Do you know why the Council took me from them? Because my mom wanted to stop being the slayer. She was never properly trained for it, and when she got pregnant with me, she just wanted to quit so we could be a family. My father was trying to free her when the Council got wind of their plan and kidnapped me.” Skye searches for some kind of a reaction from Melinda, but her face does not betray any hint of what she is thinking. “Don’t you have any sympathy for what they went through?”

“I would never do that,” Melinda says coldly. “My duty as the slayer comes first, and if that makes me some kind of cold-hearted slayer robot, then so be it.”

Before Skye can respond, the door opens, and Jiaying walks in. “Melinda,” she says calmly, “you’re awake.”

“We were just talking,” Skye says. “I was telling her that you guys just want us to be left alone, so we can be a family.”

“That’s right. The Council has no right to keep interfering in our family. They’ve already taken enough from us.” Jiaying studies Melinda, who looks to be sizing her up as well. “My daughter has a lot of faith in you. She thinks that you’re more than a mindless servant of the Council. She thinks that you truly care about doing what’s right. I want to believe her, but sadly experience has taught me to believe the worst rather than the best of people. But because she does have so much faith in you, I’m going to try to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

Skye hopes that this means that they are going to let Melinda go, and she gives her mother a grateful smile. Melinda though still looks wary. “What does that mean?” she asks.

“You’ve been a slayer for what, six years? And Daisy said that you started your training when you were only twelve. In all that time, you must have seen just how dangerous the Council is. Instead of letting you enjoy your childhood, they sent you out to fight in their war. You even died for them once, and it still wasn’t enough. The cycle will ever end. After you and Skye die, they’ll find another young girl to take your place, and on and on. I am going to stop them from hurting innocent girls with this Chosen One nonsense.”

Melinda crosses her arms. “And you’re telling me this because you need my help,” she guesses.

“Cal and I could have done this weeks ago, but we wanted to protect you and Daisy first. Destroying the slayer line is harmless to potential slayers, but as active slayers, it could kill you if we don’t remove your slayer powers first.”

Jiaying had neglected to mention that fact when she first told Skye about her plan to end the slayer line, and hearing that sends a chill down Skye’s spine. She looks at her mother and wonders what else she has been keeping from her.

Melinda glares at Jiaying. “I will never let you remove my powers.”

Jiaying shrugs. “That’s your choice.” She turns to leave.

“Wait!” Skye says. She looks frantically between her mother and Melinda. “You can’t just kill Melinda,” she begs her mother.

“I’m not doing anything, Daisy. I offered her the chance to be saved, and she’s the one refusing it. I’m not going to condemn countless innocent girls to be slaves of the Council because of one stubborn young woman.”

Skye’s voice rises with desperation. “I’ll talk to her. But please, don’t hurt her.”

Jiaying shoots Melinda a suspicious look. “If that’s what you want. But if you need anything, we’re right downstairs.”

As soon as she is gone, Melinda says to Skye, “Please tell me that this is all part of some act to lull them into a false sense of security.”

“We don’t have any other choice,” Skye says. “You know they have a point. It’s not fair what the Watchers’ Council is doing to us. I wasn’t given any choice in the matter, and neither was my mother. You were only twelve when you started training with Peggy. Did you even understand what being a slayer would mean? Their methods may be extreme, but they’re only doing it for the greater good. They want to protect people, same as you.”

“Except that I’m not going to kill people to do that,” Melinda says. “Your mother is ready to kill me to get her way. To say nothing of the innocent people who are going to die without a slayer to protect them.”

“It’s the Council’s duty to protect people, not ours. Maybe it’s time they got off their fat asses and actually did the job themselves.”

Melinda’s voice is sad. “This isn’t just about your parents, is it? You really want to give up your powers.”

Skye looks down. She feels ashamed to admit it, but she nods. “I just want to know what it would be like to have a normal, happy life. Without having to worry about abusive foster parents or being eaten by a demon.” She looks at Melinda. “Don’t you want that too? I know how much you love Phil. You guys could have a whole life together if you weren’t the slayer -- get married, have a family.”

Melinda shakes her head. “I love Phil, but I would never give up being the slayer. It’s part of who I am.”


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as Trip gets off the phone with Phil, he heads over to Mack’s house so they can search Sunnydale together. But after a couple of hours of driving around, they still have not had any luck finding out anything about Cal or Skye.

“We could try the magic shop,” Trip says.

Mack looks uneasy. “That place gives me the creeps. And didn’t Phil and Jemma say it was closed?”

“Yeah, but it’s our only lead. There might be someone there who knows something about Cal.”

Mack sighs. “Okay, but I’m not letting myself get messed up with any magic stuff.”

The sign on the door still says the magic shop is closed, but the two can detect signs of movement through the gaps in the curtains, and when Trip tries the door it is unlocked. He glances back at Mack, who gives him a nod, so Trip opens the door slowly and edges inside.

The store is empty aside from a girl about their age. Trip recognizes her as Callie Hannigan, a student at Sunnydale High. When she sees them, she nearly drops the armful of books she is shelving. “What are you guys doing here? Do you need something?”

“Yeah,” Trip says. “We’re hoping you could answer a few questions about your boss.”

“I told Phil and Jemma the last time they were in here, I don’t know where he went or when he’s coming back.” Callie hugs the books tightly to her chest.

“You look nervous,” Mack comments. “Afraid of what we’re going to do, or what your boss is going to do?”

“I swear, I don’t know what he’s planning to do,” Callie says. “But he’s a very powerful man. I wouldn’t go looking for him if he doesn’t want to be found.”

Trip does not know much about her, but he knows that Jemma considers her a friend. He hopes that she will help them if they give her a good enough reason. “We have to find him, Callie. He kidnapped Skye."

She bites her lower lip and looks away. “I don’t know where he is.” There is a note of regret in her voice, and Trip guesses that she is telling the truth.

Mack frowns. “You’ve got to know something that can help us find her.”

“She doesn’t know anything,” another voice says, “but I do.” Mack and Trip look up to see a woman coming up the basement stairs. When she gets to the top she crosses her arms and walks slowly towards them.

Mack immediately looks suspicious. “Who are you?”

Her smile is the very definition of enigmatic. “I’m sure your friend Phil has warned you about me,” she says smoothly.

“You’re Raina,” Trip guesses. “The witch who kidnapped him and worked for Hydra.”

“Actually I was working with John Garrett. But when our interests diverged, I moved on.”

“And what are your interests now? Kidnapping a high school girl?” Mack asks.

Her smile turns cold. “I really don't like your attitude. I think Phil would be more appreciative of what I have to offer.”

Mack crosses his arms. “You’re not seriously trying to play us right now. A girl’s life is at stake.”

Before Trip can jump in, his phone rings. It is Phil. He steps outside to answer it. “Hey, what’s up?”

He can hear the panic in Phil’s voice as he asks, “Is Melinda with you?”

“No. Isn’t she with Tasha and Clint?"

"No. I just got off the phone with Tasha, and she hasn’t seen her. I’m afraid that Skye’s father got to her.”

Trip glances inside the magic shop. “About that -- did Tasha and Clint get any leads on him?”

“No. Did you?”

“Maybe. We’re here at the magic shop, and Raina’s here. She says she has information about him, but she wants talk to you.”

“Bring her to the library,” he says. “We have to find Cal. Now.”

*****

Phil has barely been able to stay calm since Melinda went missing, and as soon as he gets off the phone with Trip, he starts pacing around the library as he waits for them to bring Raina over. Peggy gives him a look, but she leaves him alone to deal with his churning emotions. Losing Skye to Cal was bad enough, but knowing that he has Melinda now causes his stomach to twist into knots. He can only hope that they find her before Cal can do anything to hurt her.

When Mack and Trip march Raina into the library, she is the picture of calm. She even flashes him a smile when she sees him.

"Phil. Always a pleasure.”

"Where is Melinda?" he demands.

"Such a devoted boyfriend," she smirks. "It’s really quite sweet how protective you are of her, even if it is rather unnecessary."

He tries to make his voice low and dangerous. “Where is Melinda?” he repeats slowly.

His attempt at intimidating her only seems to amuse Raina. “What makes you think I know where she is?”

“You know where Cal is,” he guesses.

“Mmm. Yes, I do. Or at least I have an idea where to find him.” She crosses her arms. “Cal is a man who values his privacy above all else. Why should I betray his trust for you?”

“You mean besides the fact that it’s the right thing to do?” Trip asks.

“I don’t really concern myself with that,” she says dismissively. “Right and wrong depends entirely on your perspective. Cal thinks he’s doing what’s right, just as you do.”

“So if you think right and wrong doesn’t matter, what does matter to you?” Phil asks.

“Power.” Her smile is sleek and dangerous. “The Diviner is an incredibly powerful object. By understanding it better, the full extent of its powers can be revealed.”

“To make you more powerful,” Trip finishes for her. There is a look of disdain in his eyes, and she bristles at him.

“To give power to those who need it,” she snaps. “I thought that Cal understood my ambition, but he only wants to rob the world of the Diviner and its abilities.”

That is the last thing that Phil expected to hear. All along he has been assuming that Cal wants to use the Diviner to enhance himself, or perhaps to create an army of enhanced soldiers. By the elegant arch of Peggy’s brow, he can see that she is as surprised by this revelation as he is.

“He wants to destroy the Diviner? Why?” Jemma asks.

Raina looks pointedly at Peggy. “To rob the Council of their instrument.”

Jemma looks at Peggy. “Is that even possible?”

“It is possible,” Peggy confirms. “The Diviner channels the powers of the slayer to the chosen girl. Without it, it is believed that the potentials would never be selected or activated.”

A chill runs through Phil’s body as he wonders what this will mean for Melinda and Skye. Jemma must be thinking the same thing because she asks, “But what about the slayers who are already active?”

“They will die unless their connection to the Diviner can be removed,” Raina says.

“That’s impossible,” Peggy says quietly. Her mouth is set in a thin line. “A slayer’s powers are a part of her. Once she is chosen, nothing short of death can remove them from her.”

“Are you sure about that?” Phil asks.

“Over the years there have been a few instances in which a slayer has --” Peggy looks like she is choosing her next words carefully, “-- gone rogue. In some of those cases, attempts were made to remove her powers and activate a new slayer, but they were not successful.”

Phil looks back towards Raina. “But Cal must think he has a way to do this,” he guesses. “That’s why he kidnapped Skye, to remove her powers so she doesn’t die when he destroys the Diviner.”

“He’s been doing research on the nature of the slayer powers for years. But most of his experiments were on potential slayers. When he learned that she had been activated, he knew he would need to experiment on another slayer.”

Phil swallows hard as her words sink in. “You have to help us find him,” he begs Raina. “We’ll give you whatever you want.”

She smiles triumphantly. “I want the Diviner.”

Peggy shakes her head. “Out of the question.“

Raina crosses her arms and directs her attention to Phil. She stares expectantly at him, and the fact that she knows just how far he would go to rescue Melinda and Skye makes him feel frustrated and vulnerable. He knows that Peggy is making the only choice she can as head of the Watchers’ Council, but he cannot make the same sacrifice.

Phil shoots Peggy a pleading look and tries to think of a compromise. “What if she could have access to it? A chance to study it, under the Council’s supervision.”

Raina smiles and nods. They both look at Peggy, who frowns but nods slowly in agreement.

“He’s in a house ten miles east of town,” Raina says. “There’s a glamour on the house to make it appear to be condemned, but he’s fixed it up quite nicely.” Phil hands her a map of Sunnydale, and she studies it for a second, then points to a spot a few miles away from the highway. “There.”

Peggy nods at Phil. “Phil and I will go get them. The rest of you, keep an eye on Raina here until we get back.”

Phil grabs his keys. “We should pick up Tasha and Clint on the way. We might need backup.”

Mack looks warily at Raina. “Are you sure that’s safe?”

Peggy gives Raina a disdainful look. “She’s not going anywhere. She wants access to the Diviner, and that means behaving herself.”

Raina raises her eyebrows at Mack. “Are you afraid of what I’ll do to you?”

“You should be afraid of what Jemma will do to you if you step out of line,” Fitz snaps at her.

Jemma looks startled, but Raina just smiles. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I’d rather work with Jemma than against her.”

Phil grabs a crossbow and hands it to Peggy. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“Maybe you can get Raina to make herself useful,” Peggy suggests, “seeing as how we’re working together now.”

Raina smiles angelically. “Of course. I’m happy to help.”

*****

Skye leaves Melinda upstairs in the bedroom and goes down, hoping to convince her parents not to destroy the Diviner, or at least to wait. But before she even reaches the bottom, she hears her father’s voice. He sounds uncharacteristically angry, so angry that she flinches and instinctively flattens herself against the wall.

“What were you thinking?” he demands. There is the sound of a fist hitting something hard, and Skye pictures him punching the wall. “We can’t possibly remove Daisy’s powers before I test the spell on the other slayer.”

“Don’t you think I know that,” Jiaying snaps. Her voice has lost its usual serenity and is filled with a cold rage. “But I didn’t want to do anything to make Daisy suspicious of us. You’ve done enough of that already.”

Cal’s voice immediately turns conciliatory. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lost my temper. But the spell is too dangerous. What if it kills our baby?”

Jiaying’s voice is a little quieter now, though it has not lost any of its venom. “I am aware of the risks. You’ve already killed me trying to get it right. I would never put Daisy through that.”

She says something else, so quietly enough that Skye cannot make out the words. She creeps silently down the stairs until she is close enough to make out their conversation.

“-- and I’m not going to let that slayer interfere with our plans. Tonight while Daisy is asleep, we’ll grab her and do the tests you need,” Jiaying says. “Then in the morning we can finish this.”

“That’s not going to be enough time.”

“It has to be. Now that they know we’re here, we have to destroy the Diviner soon before they come after us. Once it’s gone, the Council will be too weak to pose a threat to us, or anyone else.”

Skye’s heart is thumping so loudly in her chest that she worries that they will hear it. Her father starts to say something else, but she is too afraid that they will see her to stay there any longer. She turns and runs back up to her bedroom as quickly and quietly as possible, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Melinda sits up in bed. “What are you doing here?” she asks coldly. She must be able to see the terror in Skye’s eyes because her tone softens. “What’s wrong?”

“They’re going to kill you,” she whispers hoarsely. “Tonight. We have to get you out of here.” She barricades the door with her desk chair and looks frantically around the room for an escape route.

To her credit, Melinda does not roll her eyes, but she does say, “Finally, something we can agree on.” She stands up slowly, holding onto the bedpost to steady herself. She looks woozy, but she manages to keep her feet under her. “How are we going to get out of here?”

Skye moves towards the window and peers down. They are on the second floor, but she notices a drainpipe that they can climb down. “We’ll climb out the window here and head back into town.” She had paid close attention to the route her father had taken back from Sunnydale, and she is confident that she find her way back.

But Melinda shakes her head. “We have to get the Diviner first.”

“My parents are downstairs,” Skye protests. “They’ll catch us. And I don’t even know where it is.”

“We can’t leave it with them. Think. Where might they be keeping it?”

She sighs, knowing that Melinda is right. “Maybe it’s in the basement? I saw Cal going down there a few times.”

Melinda nods. “Lead the way. I’ll be right behind you.”

The two of them leave the bedroom and creep downstairs as quietly as possible. Skye is terrified that her parents will hear them, but fortunately they are still preoccupied with their argument. She can still hear their muffled voices as they slip past the kitchen door.

The basement is dimly lit and filled with clutter. The shelves are filled with strange jars and potions, and books about magic are piled up all over the floor. They pick their way through the mess slowly, careful not to disturb anything. It only takes a few moments to spot the Diviner, sitting on a table surrounded by vials of powders and mysteriously-colored potions. The instant Skye grabs it, she feels a warmth spread up her arm, not entirely unpleasant, and she holds it tightly against her chest.

“Great,” Skye says. “Now how do we get out of here?”

Melinda glances around and spots a small window near the ceiling. “Over there.”

She leaps up and catches the ledge with her fingertips. It takes her a few tries to undo the latch, but finally the window swings open. She pulls herself up with a grunt and squeezes through the window, then turns and sticks her arm through the narrow opening.

“Give me the Diviner while you climb up.”

It is difficult for Skye to give up the Diviner, and when she does hand it over to Melinda, she notices that her eyes widen slightly. She wonders if Melinda feels the same connection to the Diviner that she does.

As soon as Skye is out of the basement, she grabs Melinda’s hand and starts to pull her towards the road. “This way.”

Together, they run as fast as they can down the dirt road. Her only hope is that they can reach the highway before her parents find them. They have only gone a few yards down the road though before a car pulls into view. It is moving fast, so fast that the driver barely manages to screech to a halt before hitting them. It is only after it stops that they recognize Phil’s shocked face in the driver’s seat.

Peggy hops out of the passenger seat and helps them into the car. “What happened?”

“We were coming to rescue you,” Natasha says as Skye and Melinda slide into the back seat next to her and Clint. It is crowded back there with the four of them, and Natasha winds up sitting on Clint’s lap, which neither of them seem to mind. “What happened?”

Skye hesitates, unsure of how to explain what happened with her parents, but Melinda says, “Cal and Jiaying kidnapped me and Skye. Cal was going to try to take my powers away and kill me in the process, but Skye helped me escape.”

“That’s pretty much what Raina told us they were trying to do,” Phil says.

Melinda raises her eyebrows. “Raina’s helping us now?”

“She agreed to help us in exchange for the chance to study the Diviner and explore its powers,” Peggy says. There is a note of disapproval in her voice, and Phil looks guilty.

“Do they have it in the house? Maybe Clint and I can sneak in and grab it,” Natasha suggests.

Melinda holds it up. “No need.” She hands it to Peggy, who cradles it in her lap.

Phil sighs with relief and quickly turns the car around back towards Sunnydale. “Let’s get out of here. When we get back to the library, we can figure out what to do with the Diviner.”


	9. Chapter 9

As they wait for the others to return, Mack, Trip, Fitz, and Jemma keep a close eye on Raina, but she does not seem bothered by their attention. She wanders through the stacks, pausing occasionally to flip through a book. Whenever she does this, Fitz flinches and gets an anxious look on his face, like he wants to jump out of his seat and grab the book out of her hands, and Mack and Trip glare at her until she finally puts the book back. After the fourth time this happens, Jemma approaches her.

“Please leave those alone. You’re making everyone nervous.”

Raina gives Jemma a withering look. “I’m not to waste this opportunity to go through such a vast collection of rare and powerful books just because it makes your friends uncomfortable. I’ve waited years to have access to these resources.”

She folds her arms across her chest. “That’s exactly why none of us trust you.”

Raina smirks at her. “From what Callie told me, they don’t exactly trust you either. They don’t trust anyone with this kind of knowledge. The Council wants to lock up these books and objects like the Diviner so that no one will ever see them. Is that really what you want? Or do you want to understand these things and use them as they were meant to be?”

Jemma licks her lips nervously. “And what do you plan on doing with the Diviner, if you ever get your hands on it?”

Her eyes shine with excitement. “When I get my hands on it,” she corrects Jemma, “I plan to harness its power just as the first Watchers did. The Council has suppressed the information for so long it’s been lost even to them, but there are books in this very library that describe how.”

Jemma looks at the book in Raina’s hands, a collection of fairy tales from around the world. “A book of fairy tales?”

Raina smiles enigmatically. “All myths contain a thread of truth. The trick is weaving those threads together so that the full picture becomes clear.”

Mack has been silently observing them from a few feet away, but he interrupts them to ask Raina, “Do you always talk in these weird riddles, or are you just doing it to annoy us?”

Trip laughs, but Fitz just gives Jemma a concerned look. She feels a wave of guilt for allowing herself to listen to Raina at all, and she quickly takes the book from her. “I think the library is closed to browsing until Phil gets back.”

Raina shrugs slightly and smiles sweetly at her. “Whatever you say.” She takes a seat at one of the library tables and folds her hands in her lap, her expression completely unconcerned.

Jemma lingers in the stacks, staring at the book she had taken from Raina. It is old and well-worn, the leather so faded with age that she can barely make out the title. It does not appear remarkable at all, and she wonders what caught Raina’s attention.

Fitz comes up beside her. “Do you think she was serious? Because we’ve searched the library before, but we never noticed this one.”

“She may be toying with us, but I think it’s worth a look.”

Jemma opens the book and turns to the table of contents. Instead of containing any familiar fairy tales, this book has stories with names like “The vampire who recovered his soul,” “The demon prince and the maiden,” and “The chosen girl.” She flips through it until she finds “The chosen girl.” Underneath the title is an elaborate illustration of a young girl in a medieval gown pointing a stake at a vampire. Next to her is a man dressed in robes holding what looks like the Diviner. Her eyes widen. “Fitz, look!”

Fitz frowns. “I see it.”

Seeing his concern, Jemma asks, “Do you think learning more about the Diviner is a mistake?”

“I don’t know,” he admits. “Something so powerful -- can anyone ever really control it? But it’s worth a try. I mean, the Council should know more about it than some guy on a quest for vengeance.” He clears his throat. “I can help you figure it out, if you want.” 

She gives him a grateful smile. She is also nervous about what might happen if they start to mess with something as powerful as the Diviner, but she feels better knowing that Fitz will be right beside her. “Thanks, Fitz.”

*****

When Skye gets back to the library with others, Jemma lets out a yelp of surprise at seeing her safe and sound, and rushes up to hug her.

“You’re okay,” Jemma says. “I was so worried. We all were.”

She smiles at Jemma’s enthusiasm. “It’s okay, Jemma. I’m okay.” She pats her shoulder in what she hopes is a reassuring manner and glances around the room. She feels like she has been gone forever even though it has only been a few days. 

Trip, Mack, and Fitz are equally relieved to see them. Fitz gives her a brief hug, and Trip and Mack slap her on the back reassuringly. The only one who does not react to her and Melinda’s return is Raina, who only has eyes for the Diviner. The way she stares at it makes Skye uncomfortable. Peggy must feel the same way, because she frowns at Raina and holds it tightly against her chest.

“We’re both okay,” Melinda says, “but now that we’re back we need to figure out what our next move is. We need to make sure that Cal and Jiaying can’t hurt anyone else.” She glances at Skye as if trying to gauge her reaction.

Skye looks away and nods. She had spent most of the drive back wondering what the Council is going to do to her parents. She knows that they have to be stopped -- they do not care who they have to kill to achieve their goals, and people that dangerous cannot be left free. However, it is still painful to think about either killing them or locking them up in prison forever. They have done terrible things, but they are still her parents, and knowing that they did this for her makes her feel at least in part responsible for their actions.

“Before we get to that, there is the small issue of our deal,” Raina interrupts. “I want to see the Diviner.”

“Now is not the time,” Peggy says firmly.

Raina’s voice grows soft and persuasive. “Perhaps it should be. You still don’t know what Cal can do with it, or how he was planning on destroying it, or what he can do with it. I can help you understand these things and use it to your advantage.”

Peggy looks skeptical, but Phil nods. “She has a point. Cal has been ahead of us this whole time. If we figure out what exactly he was planning to do with it, it might give us the upper hand.”

Melinda shakes her head. “But as soon as Cal and Jiaying realize that it’s missing, they’ll be coming after us. We need to get to them before that happens.” Her eyes flicker back to Skye, and she tries to keep her face impassive.

“We’ll split up,” Peggy decides. “One group will stay in the library with the Diviner, and the other will go out to search for Cal and Jiaying.” She gives Raina a look. “I’ll stay here with Raina. Perhaps she will be good enough to share some of her insights.”

Raina does not take her eyes off the Diviner. “Happy to be of service.”

“Jemma and I can help,” Fitz says. “We’ve been reading about the Diviner.”

“I think at least one of you should come with us to look for Cal and Jiaying,” Phil says. “We should also try to go through his research for more clues as to what he’s been doing.”

Jemma and Fitz exchange a look. “I can go,” Fitz says. “Jemma should stay here. She’s the real expert.”

Fitz looks a little nervous, and Mack says, “I’ll come too.”

“Okay,” Phil says. “Fitz, Mack, Skye, Melinda, and I will go look for Cal and Jiaying. We’ll start at the house, then check out the magic shop and any place in town with unusual magical energy. The rest of you will stay here and guard the Diviner in case they come after it.”

*****

While everyone is gathering weapons from the storeroom, Melinda and Phil go down to the basement to go through the extra weapons tucked away in storage. They should probably be overseeing the preparations upstairs, but he wants to have a few moments alone together, and he knows Natasha and Skye can handle things themselves.

As soon as they get downstairs, he wraps his arms around her and kisses her. “I was so worried about you,” he murmurs into her neck.

“I’m okay,” she reassures him, but he can tell by the way she holds onto him so tightly that she had been worried as well. That more than anything scares him. Melinda has always been confident in her abilities, and he wonders what Cal and Jiaying had done to upset her so much.

“I’m glad you were there with Skye. The two of you were able to take care of each other.”

Her voice is strangely tense. “Yeah.”

Phil frowns. “What happened back there?”

Melinda shakes her head, but Phil is not convinced. He has noticed that things seem oddly tense between them ever since they escaped, but he does not want to push her. He just strokes her arm, hoping that Melinda will open up to him. Finally she looks at him and says quietly, “It’s hard to admit it, but back there, just for a moment, I was tempted by what Jiaying said.”

That is the last thing that Phil expects her to say. She has always been so dedicated to being the slayer. “What did she say to you?”

“She said that I had given up so much already to be the slayer, that I died for the Council and yet it still wasn’t enough.” Melinda avoids his gaze. “I had some of the same thoughts after I died. When I came back and found that Skye had been activated, I felt relieved. I just wanted to forget about slaying and have a normal life. Then I met Skye, and I couldn’t let her face this alone, so I resigned myself to coming back and being the slayer again. But there's still a part of me though that wishes things were different for me, for us.” There is regret in her eyes, and her voice wavers as she admits, “I don’t want to die again.”

It scares him how frankly she talks about her own death, and he squeezes her hand. “You’re not going to die,” he says, but she just shakes her head sadly, so he tries another angle. “I’m scared about the future too. But you’re not alone. You have Skye and me, and your mom and Peggy and Tasha, and Fitz and Jemma and Trip and Mack… I know that being the slayer is a heavy burden, but you’re surrounded by people who care about you, and want to help you carry that burden. We’ll do whatever we can to help you and protect you.”

She wraps her arms around him and leans her head against his chest. “I love you. I’m lucky to have you. All of you.” She falls silent for a moment before asking, “Do you wish I had done it? Given up my slayer powers?”

The idea of being able to plan out their future as a normal couple is still as tempting as it had been when they were still under the influence of Cal’s memory spell. But he shakes his head. “Being the slayer is part of who you are. There are a thousand things that I love about you Melinda, but one of them is how strong and brave you are, and how committed you are to saving the world. You’re my hero.” He strokes her hair. “I would never ask you to give up that part of yourself for me.”

She kisses him. “You’re pretty heroic yourself.”

Behind them someone clears their throat loudly, and they turn and see Skye watching them. They both blush. He expects her to tease them for being sappy, but all she says is, “We’re ready upstairs.”

She looks uncharacteristically serious and closed off, and again he wonders if something happened while she was kidnapped that she is not sharing with them. “Are you okay, Skye?”

“Fine.” She turns and walks away without another word.

He turns back to Melinda to ask her about Skye, but she is rifling through a chest and shoving stakes and crossbow bolts into a bag. “We better hurry.” She shoves the bag into his hands and starts to fill another one.

“Melinda, what happened to Skye? Has she said anything to you?”

She pauses, and her expression softens. “We’ll talk about it later, Phil. But right now --”

He gives her a half-smile. “Time to save the world. Again.”

*****

After Phil and the others leave to look for Cal and Jiaying, Natasha positions herself in the center of the library basement to keep an eye on everything. Hopefully they will make it back to the house while Cal and Jiaying are still there, but there is a very real possibility that they have already gone out looking for Skye and the Diviner, in which case one of the first places they would look is the library. They are in a secluded, open area, and because of the maze of shelves surrounding them, there are several possible ways to approach, making it difficult to guard. Natasha, Trip, and Clint position themselves at strategic points so that between the three of them, they can cover every possible angle.

Normally when she is on patrol, she tries to keep her mind as blank as possible. She has found it easier to act on instinct rather than agonizing over every possible situation as she waits. However, this time, she cannot help but think about her friends in danger, especially Clint. She glances over at him. He has been surprisingly calm and helpful through all of this, and she thinks about how lucky she is to have found someone like him.

She goes over to where he is sitting. “How’re you doing? I know the past couple of days have been kind of a lot to handle.”

He shrugs. “I’m okay. Although it’s hard to believe that this is your normal life.”

Natasha gives a small smile, thinking about all the times in LA that she had tried to make excuses to cover up her slaying. “Yeah. It’s not exactly easy to explain.”

He looks curious. “Is that why things are rough with your dad? Does he even know?”

“No,” she admits. “Things have always been a little distant between us. He was away on business a lot when I was a kid, but keeping the slayer stuff from him was too much. After I started training, we fought a lot, especially as I got older. He didn’t understand why I quit ballet school, why I didn’t go to college, why I did do stuff normal girls did. Eventually it was just easier to stay away.”

He gives her a sympathetic look. “It must be tough doing all this alone.”

She shrugs. “It can be, but I’m used to it. Lately it’s been better, being here and having Melinda and Skye.”

“Are you going to stay in Sunnydale then?”

Truthfully she has not really thought that far in advance, but it surprises her how much she does not want to leave. “I’m not sure. Are you going back to LA after all this is over?”

“Maybe. The band is there. But things won’t be the same without you.” He smiles at her. “Could you use someone else on your demon-fighting team? I don’t have a lot of experience killing demons, but I was pretty good at archery back at summer camp.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t ask you to stay.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. I care about you, Tasha, and I can’t go back to my normal life in LA, bartending and playing in the band, and just forget that you’re out here saving the world.”

Natasha smiles a little wider and cocks one eyebrow. “Ever tried shooting a crossbow?”

*****

Melinda parks a quarter mile down the road so that Cal and Jiaying will not hear the car approaching. They run the rest of the way, Skye and Melinda far ahead thanks to their slayer powers, the rest doing their best to keep up. But when they get to the house, Cal and Jiaying’s car is already gone, and the house is dark.

“Crap,” Skye mutters. “They must have gone after the Diviner.”

Phil looks worried. “We should still look around and see if there’s anything that might help us.”

The front door is locked, so Skye leads the group around the side of the house. “His lab is in the basement. That’s where we found the Diviner. We escaped through one of the windows.”

But the window they had broken is intact again, and when Skye tries to open it, it has been sealed by magic.

“I could try to unseal it --” Phil says, but before he can do anything, Mack kicks the window, shattering it for a second time. “That works too.”

Melinda smiles at Mack, and he shrugs. “I prefer the most straightforward approach.”

They take turns squeezing through the window into the basement. The only light comes through the narrow windows set high into the wall, and it takes their eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. Skye shows them to the table where she and Melinda had found the Diviner. It has been overturned, and its contents are strewn all over the floor. While the rest of them sort through the mess of papers, jars, and assorted magical items, Skye makes her way through the rest of the basement.

She is standing at the foot of the basement stairs, wondering if there is enough time for her to pop upstairs for just a moment, when she hears the door open from the top. 

Even before the figure has come completely into view, she raises her arms and shouts, “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kick your head off.”

Her father’s voice answers, overwhelmed with emotion. “Daisy? Is that you? Oh thank god, you’re alive.” He rushes towards her to hug her, but she steps aside before he can touch her. He looks confused. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? What did that monster do to you when she kidnapped you?”

Skye stares at him incredulously. “Melinda didn’t kidnap me. I chose to go with her, to keep you two from killing her.”

Cal looks shocked. “Daisy, you don’t know what you’re saying. Those monsters must have brainwashed you. Your mother was afraid that that’s why you left.” He reaches out and grabs her arm. “You need to come with me right now. I’m the only one who can protect you.”

Skye pulls away. “I’m not going anywhere with you, but you are coming back with me, to face the Council. Now where is Jiaying.”

“She left to go get the Diviner. She wouldn’t listen to me -- I told her it wasn’t ready --” His voice breaks, and Skye wonders if he is going to start crying.

“What isn’t ready?” Phil asks as he steps out of the shadows.

As soon as Cal sees them, his mournful expression twists into an angry scowl. “You,” he snarls. “Get away from my Daisy.”

Melinda is right behind Phil, and she starts to move towards Cal, but he touches her arm gently and she stops. “What isn’t ready, Cal?” he repeats, his voice strangely calm.

Cal raises his hands, and Skye wonders if he is going to cast a spell on them. “Dad! Don’t!” It does the trick. He lowers his hands and looks at her with a mixture of surprise and happiness. She makes her tone as gentle as possible, “Please Dad, don’t hurt him. Just please, tell us what’s going on.”

He takes a deep breath, and she can see him struggling to control his anger. She worries that he is going to attack her friends anyway, but instead he says, “The spell to destroy the Diviner. I still haven’t figured out how to remove the mark of the slayer because I wasn’t able to run the tests I needed. If she activates it now, it will kill both you and your mom.”

“And Melinda,” Phil says. Melinda remains silent, but her face is pale.

“Jiaying?” Skye asks surprised. Until this moment it had not occurred to her that Jiaying still has the mark of the slayer too, but it makes sense. When Melinda came back from the dead, she did so with all of her slayer powers intact. “Why does she want to destroy the Diviner if it’s going to kill her?”

Cal’s voice breaks. “She doesn’t care. All she cares about it taking revenge on the Watchers’ Council for what they did to her. I begged her to run away from Sunnydale, let us just start over as a family, but she wouldn’t listen. She’ll do anything to destroy the slayer line, even if it destroys our family in the process.”

“We have to stop her,” Phil says. “I know that you love her, Cal, but you said it yourself, she’s going to destroy your family.” He takes a step towards Cal. “You said once that you and I aren’t that different. You’re right. I understand where you’re coming from. I know that you love your daughter, and you would do anything to protect her. Well, right now she needs you to protect her from her mother. Help us stop her from destroying the Diviner.”

Skye is not sure how much Phil actually believes what he is saying and how much is just to persuade Cal, but whatever the case, it works. Cal slowly nods and looks at Skye.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my daughter.”

*****

Peggy frowns at Jemma. “This is your source? A book of fairy tales?”

Jemma feels a little embarrassed. “We’ve searched everywhere else. This is the only book I could find that talks about how the Diviner was used to create the first slayer.”

Peggy raises her eyebrows. “I assume you’re referring to this story, ‘The chosen girl.’ You think there’s some real information here?”

Raina snatches the book away, obviously annoyed by their skepticism. “It’s all right here. You just have to look beyond the surface.” She flips through the pages. “The story tells of a series of trials the Watcher used to choose the right girl, testing her strength, speed, resilience --”

“Potentials don’t go through trials,” Peggy says. “They’re born with the ability to become a slayer.”

Raina rolls her eyes. “The trials represent the different components to the spell.” She points to an illustration of a girl facing down a demon. “This trial testing her courage could represent thyme. Notice the decoration around the picture.”

Peggy peers at the image closely. Along the edge is a decorative border of tiny white flowers. “Flowering thyme.”

Raina nods. “But I need your help deciphering some of them. You’re much more familiar with the Watchers’ history than I am.”

Jemma glances between them. She knows that Peggy is worried about Raina’s motives, but right now she is the only one who can help them understand the Diviner. Finally Peggy gives a small nod.

“There should be plenty of thyme oil in the storage room,” she says. “What’s the next one?”

Raina, Jemma, and Peggy are so engrossed in the book that they do not notice the intruder until Trip shouts, “Stay back!”

He is holding a baseball bat and backing away slowly from Jiaying. From the other side of the library, Natasha and Clint appear, brandishing their own weapons, but Jiaying barely gives the three of them a second glance. All of her attention is on the Peggy and the Diviner.

Peggy’s eyes narrow when she sees who it is. “Jiaying. Skye told me that you were still alive.”

“Disappointed?”Jiaying asks.

Peggy’s voice is as even as always, but there is a sadness in her eyes. “Surprised. I found your body all those years ago the night I rescued Skye.”

“You mean when you stole Daisy. Cal told me what you did to him so you could get your hands on her.” Jiaying walks slowly towards Peggy. “Destroying my life wasn’t enough? You had to take away the one pure thing I had.”

Jemma instinctively recoils from Jiaying, but Peggy takes a step towards her. “I was saving her from what that man was about to do to her.”

Jiaying does not raise her voice, but the intensity in her eyes is more than enough to convey the barely-controlled rage within. “That man is her father. He was only trying to do what was best for her. What made you think you had any right to intervene on our family?”

“I am a Watcher, and Skye was a potential. I had a duty to protect her.”

“She doesn’t need protection from her father or from me. It’s you people who are her true enemy.” She glances at the Diviner, and Jemma wonders how long they will be able to keep her from it. “Once I destroy that, all of the slayers and potentials will finally be free.”


End file.
